QUAID‑E‑AZAM SOLAR

PARK (BAHAWALPUR)

SUPERVISOR: DR TAHIR IQBAL

TEAM MEMBERS:
FAROOQ A. CHEEMA
M. HASNAT IQBAL KHAN
SYED MOHSIN RAZA
CONTENTS

• Background
• Project Overview
• Overall Objectives
• Project Scope
• Key Stakeholders
CONTENTS CONTD…

•Estimated Cost
•Planned Schedule
•Execution
•Challenges
•Analysis
•Comparison with similar projects
 BACKGROUND
• Pakistan was facing an acute energy crisis for the last many years.
Punjab being the largest consumer of electricity in the country was
worst hit in terms of business losses and quality of life
• Therewas an urgent need to REDUCE the ever widening gap
between demand and supply of electricity in the country
• Previous governments tried different policy measures to mitigate
the issue of power in Pakistan, ranging from nationalization and
privatization of power companies to load shedding and
collaborations with private firms
BACKGROUND CONTD…

• The Government of Punjab decided to focus on alternative

energy sources to meet the additional power requirements
• Punjab has a huge potential for solar energy and there was
a keen investor interest in solar subsector, so a project was
conceived to establish Quaid-E-Azam Solar Park in
Bahawalpur
ELECTRICITY MIX OF PAKISTAN BY
SOURCE
PROSPECTS OF SOLAR ENERGY IN
PAKISTAN
 PROJECT OVERVIEW
• QSP is located in the desert area of Lal Sohanra, spanning 2,630
hectares with installed flat-panel PV and a total installed capacity of
1000 MW
• QSP is one of the world’s largest solar power plants and it is the first
utility-scale, grid connected solar power plant of Pakistan
• The project consists of three phases:
• Phase I (100 MW)
• Phase II (300 MW)
• Phase III (600 MW)
 OVERALL OBJECTIVES
1) Contribute to meeting the electricity supply deficit in project area in
particular; and country in general
2) Provide electricity to stimulate and support the expansion of local industry
and service businesses
3) By using indigenous renewable resources of power generation, avoid
depletion of natural resources for future generation and environmental
stability
4) Create employment opportunities during construction and operations and
also provide opportunities for developing ecotourism
5) Contribute to improved electricity supply service delivery to a limited extent
specifically having a wide rural outreach
 OVERALL OBJECTIVES CONTD…
6) Improve microeconomic efficiency of the power sector by reducing fossil fuel
usage
7) Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power generation and contribute to
negligible emission, effluent, and solid waste intensity of power generation in
the system
8) Conserve natural resources including land, forests, minerals, water, and
ecosystems
9) Improve the local physical infrastructure such as roads and transmission
network in the project area
10)Develop the local economy and create employment, particularly in rural areas
and in a district that is considered as backward area, a priority concern of the
Government of Pakistan
 PROJECT SCOPE
a) Power Generation Facility:
• In Phase-I, 100MWp DC Solar Power Plant (utility-scale, grid-
connected) would be installed at QPS. The park ultimately aims at
housing 1000MWp DC of solar power plants in a vicinity of 6,500
acres, out of which 500 acres have been allocated for the first 100MW.
• The project would be developed using poly-crystalline photovoltaic
cells without any backup generators and would generate 100% clean
energy to be fed into the national grid.
• The project would generate around 165,000 MWh of electricity on
average for the first crediting period. After completion of Phase-III,
the average annual generating capacity is estimated to be 12.7 billion
 PROJECT SCOPE CONTD…

b)Infrastructure Facilities:
• Road & access works
• Water supply and drainage works
• Electrical works
• Communicative Works
• Erosion & torrent control works
PROJECT SITE
FLOW OF ELECTRICITY FROM
GENERATION IN PV CELL TO NATIONAL
GRID FOR QASP
PHASE-I
SUMMARY OF EQUIPMENT (PHASE-I)
KEY STAKEHOLDERS

• Supervising Agency: Punjab Power Development Board (PPDB) /

Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB)
• Contractor (EPC+ O&M) Phase-I : TBEA Xinjiang SunOasis Co.
Ltd
• Contractor (EPC) Phase-II : Zonergy Company Ltd
• Coordinating Ministry: Ministry of Water and Power
• Operator: Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power (Pvt.) Ltd
 ESTIMATED COST
a) Power Generation Facility
• Estimated total investment for Photovoltaic Power Generation facilities of
all power plants will be US$ 2,131 m

b) Infrastructure Facilities
• Estimated total investment for the infrastructure facilities is US$ 250 m
• Phase-I =US$ 16.748 m
• Phase II= US$ 34.31 m
• Phase III= US$ 198.94 m
INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES
PLANNED SCHEDULE

• Phase-I (100MW): March 2015

• Phase-II (300 MW): End of 2015
• Phase-III (600 MW): End of 2016
 EXECUTION
Date Milestone
January 17, 2014 Feasibility Study Conducted
January 30, 2014 Phase-I Bidding Documents Floated
April 21, 2014 Letter of Acceptance to EPC Contractor (Contract price of $131.15 million and a 25-year
(Project Start Date) maintenance contract of around $73 million, a total of $215 million)

May 6, 2014 Commencement of EPC Works

June 2, 2014 Contract Signing with EPC and O&M Contractors

June 26, 2014 Grant of Generation License by NEPRA

July 14, 2015 Phase-I Commercial Operations Started

September, 2015 The Phase-II of project started in September 2015 by issuance of a Letter of Intent

June 2016 Phase II (300 MW) was connected to the grid with an investment of $ 500 m

Phase III (600 MW) of the project is still not completed

 CHALLENGES
• The Phase-I of the project was completed on time in 2014 within the set
budget. Hence, it fulfilled the budget, scope and cost requirements that all
projects have.
• However, the Phase-II of the project did not fare as well in the time
management aspect.
• WAPDA raised concerns over the award for construction, claiming it was
not transparent and had been prematurely awarded within just a week of the
start of bidding by prospective companies.
• This created significant problems and was an obvious challenge for the
project.
 CHALLENGES CONTD…

• During the installation process of the second phase, which was the 300MW share
of the project, there was an issue with the tariff for the 600MW part of the phase.
• This caused an inconsistency in the project plan and drove a wrench in the project
budget, making the investment insecure.
• Ultimately, the construction firm challenged this decision and declared that it
would cease construction and work if tariffs were reduced, this culminated with
WAPDA granting subsidies to make up for the loss and increased the already high
burden of circular debt on the government.
CHALLENGES CONTD…

• Projectmanagers have also been unsuccessful in mitigating risk

from external stakeholders who have influence on important
aspects like budget (e.g., tariff changes).
• Projectmanagers must skillfully negotiate with stakeholders to
reap the full benefits of the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park.
 ANALYSIS
• For a country facing an on-going power crisis, amplified by crushing debt,
institutional mismanagement and general neglect, solving this crisis is
considered to be the key towards a prosperous, sustainable future.
• The QSP promised to do just that. However, the project has not led to level of
development it was expected to, neither has it attracted substantial green energy
investments that could be traced back to its installation. Pakistan still faces
considerable energy losses, issues with expensive fuel imports and widespread
electricity outages on a regular basis even in the biggest industrial centers of the
country.
• Due to issues with other non-renewable power supplies, policy issues and
constraints from various stakeholders, the project has remained below the level
of success it could have achieved.
SIMILAR PROJECTS
Project Capacity (MW) In-Service Date
Kot Addu Power Company 1600 2016
Gulpur Hydropower Project 102 2020
Golen Gol Hydropower Project 108 2018
Patrind Hydropower Plant 147 2017
Neelum–Jhelum Hydropower 969 2018
Plant
Sahiwal Coal Power Project 1320 2017
Port Qasim Coal Power Project 1320 2017
Hub Coal Power Project 1320 2018
(KANUPP-2) 1100 2021
THANK YOU !