Category: Belt and Road

Sinosure

China’s Overseas Investment Insurance – Sinosure

For the majority of projects along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) four layers of actors can be identified: Lender, Credit Insurance, Construction Company, and Project Developer. The lenders are often familiar names such as China Development Bank (CDB), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) or the Export-Import Bank of China. The provider of Credit Insurance – Sinosure – however is a rather unknown name despite its wide appreance among the BRI projects. Nevertheless, Sinosure is a significant player in the making of projects along the BRI since it provides a safety net critical to Chinese investors. Therefore, we want take a closer look at the Credit Insurarer Sinosure and its engagement within the BRI.  Continue reading Sinosure

Matiari – Lahore Transmission Line Project

The Matiari-Lahore Transmission Line Project is a 660-kilovolt high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) line that is currently under construction within the framework of the Early Harvest projects of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The project is aligned with the coal-fired power projects in the province of Sindh, transferring 4000MW electricity from Thar and Port Qasim to central Pakistan. It is crucial for the evacuation of electricity from this region and the general improvement of Pakistan’s grid structure. It will be the first HVDC transmission line in Pakistan and will consist of 878km. Furthermore, will the project be the first power transmission line in Pakistan financed through the foreign investment as well as through the private sector.

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Three Gorges Second & Third Wind Farm

The first wind farm in Pakistan constructed by China Three Gorges Corporation, Three Gorges First Wind Power Project, which was at the same time the first wind farm to be constructed by a Chinese company, started commercial operation in 2014. Shortly after operation of the Three Gorges First Wind Power Project, a second and third wind farm was decided. Despite, these two wind farms being understood as two separate projects – the Three Gorges Second Wind Power Project and the Three Gorges Third Wind Power Project – they can also be seen as two phases of the Three Gorges Wind Power Project.

The first phase of the project, namely the Three Gorges First Wind Power Project, precedes the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and was established on a Build-Own-Operate model with a cost of 130.28 million USD. The second and third phase, the Three Gorges Second and Third Wind Power Project, are affiliated with the early harvest program of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The two projects, Three Gorges Second Wind Farm and Three Gorges Third Wind Farm, have a designed capacity of 49.5 MW and 33 wind turbines each. For each of the three projects a company was established, the Three Gorges First Wind Farm Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd., the Three Gorges Second Wind Farm Pakistan Ltd., and the Three Gorges Third Wind Farm Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd., who are all arms of the Three Gorges Corporation, one of the world’s largest energy companies.

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Thar Engro Coal Power Project (Thar block-II)

The Thar Desert – with 175 billion tons of coal – is home to the 7th largest coal reserves in the world. The Thar Engro Coal Power Project (also known as Thar-II or Thar Coal Block II) will consist of three phases and is located in Tharparkar District, Sindh Province, Pakistan. Phase I consists of an open pit mining project and two 330 MW lignite sub critical coal fired power plants. In Phase II, the mine will be expanded to yield 13.5 million tons of coal and in Phase III, the mine will be expanded to yield 19.5 million tons of coal annually in order to support 3600 MW of power generation. The coal power plant is currently under construction in Block II of the Thar coal field. In total the Thar Power Project will consist of five Blocks. The project is being developed as part of the China – Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) by Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (a joint venture between the government of Sindh and Engro Corporation) and China Machinery Engineering Corporation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

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BRI Factsheet Series – Sachal Wind Farm

In September 2017, Pakistan’s National Electric Power Regulatory Authority released the information that the share of wind power in the overall energy mix had increased by 0.46 per cent to 1.23 per cent. This brings the country closer to reach its 2030 target of 5 per cent wind-power of its overall electricity output. An important component of this wind power expansion is the Sachal Windfarm Project, a wind farm, developed on 275 hectare of land, with a total installed capacity of 49.5 MW. The project is located in the Jhimpir wind corridor in the Thatta District, Province of Sindh, being developed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) of the Belt and Road Initiative.

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Dawood Wind Power Project

The Dawood Wind Power Project is a wind farm developed on 1,720 acres of tidal flats in the Province of Sindh. This is the first China-backed wind farm in Pakistan. The project is being developed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) of the Belt and Road Initiative.

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Port Qasim Power Project

The Port Qasim Power Project in Pakistan is a 1,320 MW supercritical coal power plant, comprising of two 660 MW plants. It is expected to generate an average annual output of 9,504 GWh. It was build on 204 acres at Port Qasim, 37 kilometers east of Karachi in Sindh Province. The agreements for the project’s implementation, power purchase, land lease and port services were signed during President Xi’s visit to Pakistan in April 2015. The project is part of a group of 14 energy projects which fall under the fast-tracked “Early Harvest” program of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) of the Belt and Road Initiative.

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Karakoram Highway

The Karakoram Highway with a total length of 1,300 km connects the Pakistani provinces of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan with China’s western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. On the Chinese side it becomes the China National Highway 314. It is the main artery between China and Pakistan since it is the only overland link between the two countries. The highway passes through the Karakoram mountain range at an elevation of 4,714 meters making it a popular tourist attraction. It was built by the governments of Pakistan and China in 1959 and opened in 1979. About 810 Pakistanis and about 200 Chinese workers lost their lives during the construction work. Landslides, earthquakes and floods are not uncommon in the region, frequently damaging parts of the highway. A reconstruction and upgrade of the Karakoram Highway is underway under the framework of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and is said to be essential in the economic success of the Gwadar port. The reconstruction and upgrade is divided in different parts and phases.

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BRI Factsheet Series – Karachi-Peshawar Line

The Karachi-Peshawar Railway Line is one of four main railway lines in Pakistan. The line begins in Karachi and ends in Peshawar connecting the north and the south of the country. Currently the line consist of 184 stations with a total length of 1,687 km with a total travel time of 22 hours. Parts of the Karachi-Peshawar Railway Line have been established during the 19th century. Under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor the line will be upgraded in order to increase the average rail speed from current 105 km/h to 160 km/h. Furthermore, a computer based signaling and control system will be introduced and the entire track will be doubled. This upgrade is essential to the development of Pakistan since the Karachi-Peshawar Railway Line serves as the main passenger and freight line.

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BRI Factsheet Series – Infrastructure Development for Free Zone Gwadar

The Infrastructure Development for Free Zone Gwadar is part of a larger series of construction projects in Gwadar under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Three areas have been allocated free zone and export processing zones in the industrial locations of Gwadar and are aiming at creating a backup port industry for the Gwadar Port: 1,000 acres for the export processing zone which will be handled by the Export Processing Zones Authority, 3,000 acres for an industrial zone which will be handled by the Gwadar Industrial Estate Development Authority and 2,280 acres for the Gwadar Port Free Zone which will be operated by the China Overseas Port Holding Company.

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