Siddiqsons power station

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Siddiqsons power station is a permitted power station in Singhara, Thatta, Sindh, Pakistan. It is also known as Port Qasim Siddiqsons power station, SEL Plant.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Siddiqsons power station	Singhara, Thatta, Sindh, Pakistan	24.783618, 70.367088 (approximate)

The map below shows the approximate location of the power station.

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Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year	Retired year
Unit 1	permitted	coal - lignite	330	supercritical	2026	–

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner
Unit 1	Siddiqsons Energy Ltd [100.0%]

Project-level coal details

• Coal source(s): Thar (domestic)

Background

On December 22, 2014, Siddiqsons Group and China's Harbin Electric International Company, the co-sponsor, signed a consortium agreement to jointly establish a 350 MW coal fired power plant on supercritical technology at Port Qasim, Karachi. The power station was planned for completion in 2019 and was to be based on imported coal. The companies applied for a generation license in March 2015.

The power station was estimated to cost US$550 million, and would be built on 100 acres in the area within the jurisdiction of the Port Qasim Authority (PQA).

At a June 2015 public hearing for the power station, attendees expressed doubts over the capacity, authority, and influence of the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) to carry out post-environmental impact assessment (EIA) monitoring and ensure the project's compliance with environmental laws.

In September 2015, the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) issued a Letter of Support to the project. Also, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) approved the upfront tariff for the project. The project would cost an estimated US$600 million and financial close was expected by the first quarter of 2016 according to Siddiqsons Energy CEO A Rahim Rafi.

In February 2016, Siddiqsons signed a construction contract with Harbin Electric to build the plant. Construction was at that time scheduled to begin in July 2016, and would be completed Q1 2019.

In July 2016, the government banned private investment in power projects based on imported fuel. In November 2016, Dawn reported that sponsor Siddiqsons Energy Limited (SEL) was compelled to convert the project to local Thar lignite coal if it wanted to continue with it and bring foreign financing. The negotiations led to an agreement on extending the financial close deadline until August 2017. It was now planned for June 2020.

In January 2017, the government approved the transmission plan for the plant.

In August 2017, SEL said it planned to relocate its coal plant to Thar Block-II from Port Qasim to curtail transportation cost. A document citing a transportation study undertaken pursuant to the requirements of the local coal tariff said transporting one million tonnes of coal each year from Thar to Port Qasim was “not only impractical and wasteful, but also hazardous.” The change in location from Port Qasim to Thar would reduce the plant's capacity from 350 megawatts to 330 megawatts. SEL filed an application seeking a new generation licence for a coal plant at Thar Block II after the power regulator directed the company to seek a fresh generation license for the new site. SEL obtained a firm commitment for the allocation of coal from the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (see Thar Mine).

In January 2018, the tariff for the proposal was approved, but the revised generation license application was still under review. A generation license for the project was issued on August 8, 2018.

In May 2018, Engro Corporation announced it would invest in the project by purchasing US$21.3 million worth of SEL shares. Engro also said it had entered into a joint-venture agreement (JVA) with Siddiqsons Limited and Arif Habib Limited regarding management of SEL.

A December 17, 2018 updated list of "Upcoming IPPs" by the Ministry of Water & Power stated the plant would be commissioned in March 2022, and that financial close was "in progress". In February 2019, the Private Power and Infrastructure Board extended the project's deadline for financial close by one year.

In January 2020, the transmission lines for the project were approved.

A December 4, 2020 updated list of "Upcoming IPPs" by Pakistan's Private Power and Infrastructure Board stated the plant would be commissioned in July 2023. Financial close was listed as still in progress.

Pakistan’s Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan 2021-30 approved by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority in September 2021 had listed the project for commissioning in June 2023.

K-Electric's (KE) website stated that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SEL in December 2021 for procurement of power, with the project expected to achieve commissioning by FY 2026.

An update of the 'Upcoming IPPs' list by the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) on October 1, 2021 pushed back the target completion to April 2024 and stated that financial close was still in progress.

As of June 2022, the target completion date was still listed as April 2024, but it was marked as "under litigation". In a media article from August 2022, it was clarified that SEL has filed a court order against the Private Power and Infrastructure Board's decision to double the amount of the existing Bank guarantee and to draw on it, due to numerous delays to achieve financial close. SEL claims that it has already invested over $20 million as equity in the project and has now expressed intention to sell electricity to K-Electric instead of the national grid. SEL believes that under this set-up, the lenders will be comfortable to provide debt financing. The Company has requested PPIB to support this change in the project's offtake and to not to call on the performance guarantee until financial close is achieved.

In September 2022, Pakistan’s Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan 2022-30 did not list the project anymore. As of December 2022, the PPIB still listed the project "under litigation" but with NO target completion date. A media report from January 2023 stated that PPIB was unwilling to revive the project.

In March 2023, the PPIB list of "Upcoming IPPs" did not contain the plant anymore. The project was also not listed in July 2023.

As of September 2023, the project was not considered shelved given KE's continued interest in the project. Reporting indicated that logistical and legal planning was ongoing.

Reporting from November and December 2023 stated that the PPIB was planning to hold a round of competitive bidding for the power station project, on behalf of KE. The PPIB had also requested that KE conduct a feasibility study on initiating the procurement process. January 2024 reporting indicated that the project’s performance guarantee had been encashed in August 2022, and PPIB was seeking to terminate an existing Letter of Support so that the competitive bidding process could proceed.

The CEO of Siddiqsons Energy Ltd stated in February 2024 that "they have all documents, studies, approvals, funding, and contracts in place already, we just want a much-needed support from relevant departments and we are good to take off”.

Financing

Debt financing has been anticipated for the project, but the details are unknown. As per June 2022 source, SEL believed that with K-Electric as the off-taker, lenders would be comfortable to provide debt financing.

Funding was secured for the project, according to the CEO of Siddiqsons Energy (February 2024), but the sources are not known.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.