ISLAMABAD: The National Power Park Management Company (NPPMC) has imposed a Rs12 billion penalty on two Chinese firms owing to five months delay in the commercial production from Punjab’s 2460MW RLNG-run power plants of Haveli Bahadur Shah and Bhikki, sources revealed.
Well-informed sources in energy ministry informed Pakistan Today that the federal government’s owned NPPMC has served penalty notices to the two Chinese companies over their failure in starting commercial operation of Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas run power plants of Haveli Bahadur Shah and Bhikki. They said the Chinese firms would bear the penalty owing to five months delay in the commercial production from the two RLNG-run power plants. Both the Chinese firms will have to face a $0.6 million per day penalty till the start of commercial production of electricity from the power plants. As per the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract, Chinese firms still failed to initiate commercial production from the two power plants, said sources.
The sources further informed that so far the national exchequer has faced Rs15 billion in losses due to the delay in commercial production from these plants.
Copies of documents available with this scribe transpire that NPPMC had signed an agreement in May 2015 with a Chinese firm ‘Power Construction China’ and Alqueva in a joint venture to build the 1230MW Haveli Bahadur Shah power plant, while the NPPMC inked an agreement with Harbin Electric International and Habib Rafiq Pvt Limited in a joint venture for the construction of Bhikki power plant. The Chinese firm ‘Power Construction China’ was bound in contract to start the commercial operations of Haveli Bahadur Shah power plant at full capacity by 9 January 2018, while Harbin International was bound to start the production of electricity at full capacity from Bhikki power plant by 20 January 2018. Upon finding the violation of contracts, NPPMC has imposed a penalty on the two Chinese firms.
Official sources from the energy ministry on condition of anonymity said that the NPPMC has taken an action against the Chinese firms only because of the possible actions of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). They said the collection of penalty from Chinese firms will be made through final payments. However, they said, the ruling elite from Punjab might create hindrances in the collection of penalty from Chinese firms.
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