Sindh, Kuwaiti firm sign $190m water pact for Thar coalfield
The signing ceremony was attended by Council General of Kuwait Salim Yusif Al-Hamdan, CEO EnerTech Water Yasser Malik and COO Usman Ahsan, and MD Pak-Kuwait Investment Company Mubashar Maqbool, said a press release.
From Sindh government, Minister Energy Imtiaz Shaikh, Minister Irrigation Sohail Anwar Siyal, Minister Local Government Nasir Shah participated in the ceremony. Deputy Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait Abdullah Al-Turki, Ambassador of Kuwait Nasar Abdul Rahman J Al-Mutairi, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Kuwait Syed Sajjad Haider and CEO EnerTech Holding Company Kuwait Abdullah Al-Mutairi witnessed the signing ceremony through video link.
The EnerTech Holding Company signed a MOU with the Sindh government and was awarded with Letter of Interest (LoI) to develop the Nabisar-Vajihar water supply project for water supply to Thar power projects which was a strategic project for Pakistan.
The project would ensure the supply of industrial water for coal-based power sector and it was important for the development of power infrastructure project, said the Chief Minister, adding the project was envisaged to be completed on fast-track basis and Enertech had developed the project to date in a record time and would be completed within 12 months of financial close.
CEO of EnerTech Yasser Malik told the Chief Minister that the financial close was expected in July and the construction would be started in same month also. On behalf of the Sindh Government, Secretary Irrigation Saleem Khuhro and CEO EnerTech Water Company Yasser Malik signed the concession agreement.
EnerTech Holding Company was fully owned subsidiary of National Technology Enterprises Company (NTEC), which in turn was a fully owned subsidiary of the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the Sovereign Wealth Fund of the State of Kuwait. The 25-year concession agreement related to the processing and supply of 45 cusecs water from Nabisar through a 61 kilometer pipeline to Vajihar. The project would also encompass the construction of reservoirs at Nabisar and Vajihar to ensure storage of water for a cumulative period of 175 days. The project has been developed on a fast-track basis by EnerTech Holding Company and the Government of Sindh in a period of twelve months.
The quick project development timeline underscores EnerTech Holding Company’s commitment to invest in critical infrastructure projects that were deemed strategically important.
The Chief Executive Officer of EnerTech Holding Company, Abdullah Al Mutairi stated “this is a strategic project for EnerTech, developed in partnership with Sindh government.”
“We are pleased to have developed a sustainable and critical project on a fast-track basis during the coronavirus pandemic,” he said and added “this success depicted EnerTech’s best capabilities in infrastructure project in Pakistan.”
