QASIM, Pakistan - The first unit of Port Qasim coal-fired power plant was inaugurated here on Wednesday, marking the second of the major energy projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) started to generate electricity.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said here in a ceremony that the power plant will provide the cheapest electricity to Pakistan and local people are the first one to get benefit from the power plant.

The power plant is another milestone for Pakistan-China friendship, he said.

The unit one of the 1,320-mw coal-fired power plant at Port Qasim will generate 660 mw electricity that will help overcome power shortage in Pakistan and optimize Pakistan's energy structure, which mainly depends on oil and gas.
The prime minister said that the first unit was put into use three months ahead of its scheduled time, adding that the second unit of the plant will also be functional in February next year.

"CPEC will play a vital role in the economic development and progress of Pakistan," Abbasi said.

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing congratulated the launch of the first unit of the Qasim power plant, hoping that the plant could serve as a model project under CPEC.

He said that the power plant groups the third party of Qatar and it demonstrated that CPEC is for the development of the entire region.

According to Yan Zhiyong, chairman of the Power Construction Corporation of China, or Power China, the Port Qasim coal-fired power plant has two world's advanced supercritical coal-fired generators that are the most environment friendly coal-fired generators.

He told media earlier Wednesday that the environmental protection standards that the Port Qasim plant adopted is higher than that of the European Union and the World Bank.

He said that China has transferred its most advanced technologies in this field to Pakistan.

Yan also said that the Power China also helps Pakistani workers in the project to study in China so as to operate the power plant in the future.