Night view from Monal Restaurant, situated at a hilltop in Islamabad, Pakistan Photo: Li Hao/GT

A broad array of energy projects undertaken by Chinese enterprises will help Pakistan to achieve its goal of solving the energy problem by 2017 and unleash the country's industrial potential, experts and industry leaders told the Global Times.

Due to various reasons, Pakistan is facing a severe energy crisis, which has disruptive impact on civilian lives and industrial production and discourages investment.

Given the urgency of the situation, the Pakistani government has made up plans to put an end to chronic power shortages by as early as 2017, according to media reports.

Factors behind crisis

Ejaz Hussain, a professor with Iqra University and researcher on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), said the current energy crisis is a combined result of a lack of long-term planning by the previous governments in Pakistan and failed attempts by the federal government to build a political consensus with smaller provinces where many of the hydropower resources are located.

The CPEC is a flagship project in China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative, which refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013.

Under the initiative, China aims to support partner countries along the routes in developing infrastructure.

"The Pakistani state has traditionally relied on a few selected sources of energy, mainly hydro, and did not give full consideration to new sources of energy such as solar and wind," he told the Global Times on June 13.

For instance, the federal government has been slow in tapping the wind resources near the Makran Coast along the Arabian Sea, Ejaz said. "Instead of continuing to focus on big projects such as giant hydro dams, for which it is very difficult to build a political consensus, the incumbent government has launched some successful projects to diversify energy sources, such as solar projects."

"Promises to solve the energy problem have become a tool for Pakistan's political parties to win electoral support," Hou Peng, director of the International Business Department at TBEA Xinjiang SunOasis Co, a new-energy subsidiary of Chinese grid equipment and energy major TBEA, told the Global Times in his office in Lahore on June 17.

Lahore is the provincial capital of the Punjab province and economic powerhouse of Pakistan.

While he was speaking, lamps and air conditioners in the room blinked as the power source was briefly switched to diesel-powered backup.

"With the help of Chinese economic assistance, technologies, and manpower, the Pakistani government has succeeded in pushing infrastructure development for the energy sector," Ejaz said, noting that the government led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif includes many industrialists with an economic mind-set.

Chinese support

Xinjiang SunOasis Co, the new-energy subsidiary of leading manufacturer of transformers TBEA, has completed the first solar plant in Pakistan, which is also the first energy project completed under the CPEC framework.

The company built the 100 megawatts Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park in Bahawalpur, which was connected to the grid in late March and has generated more than 39 million kilowatt-hours of electricity for the Punjab Province, according to Hou.

The CPEC provided an opportunity for TEBA, which not only has four transmission plants across China but also invests heavily in the full industrial chain of solar energy and new materials such as those used in aerospace and high-speed train manufacturing, Hou told the Global Times on June 17.

"Pakistan lacks electricity and power sources, its grid system is aged, and its needs match seamlessly with the industrial strength of our company. Being headquartered in [Northwest China's] Xinjiang [Uyghur Autonomous Region], which borders Pakistan, gives us an additional edge," noted Hou. 

"The country sits on the solar energy belt near the equator with an annual effective sun exposure of roughly 1,700-2,200 hours. This compares to around 1,400 hours in Germany which has massive installation of solar power," Hou said. "Solar plants and wind farms can be constructed and utilized in a short time frame compared to traditional power sources like coal-fired plants. New energy can address the urgent need to raise energy supply in Pakistan."

But TEBA is not alone in harnessing the energy potential of the country.

A subsidiary of China Three Gorges Corporation became the first company to gain support from China's $40-billion Silk Road Fund in April to develop Pakistan's Karot hydropower project.

State-owned infrastructure giant Power Construction Corporation of China announced on April 9 an investment into a $2 billion coal-fired power project outside Karachi, Pakistan's major sea port.

Other big name investors in Pakistan's energy sector include China Power Investment Corporation and China Gezhouba Group Co.

Bright prospects

The prospect of an end to the energy crisis has not only brought about hope but also action.

Khawaja Khawar Rashid, CEO of Lahore Esschem (Pvt) Ltd, said he was able to diversify his business from trading to local production thanks to these CPEC energy projects.

His company trades in cosmetics chemicals and industrial materials used in the production of whitening creams, shampoos and conditioners. More than half of the goods supplied by his company are imported from China.

"We are going to set up a plant to produce cosmetics chemicals, and it is expected to become operational in 2016 because of the improved energy supply following the launch of the CPEC," he told the Global Times Thursday, noting that previously it would have been unthinkable to plan a plant with the chronic power outages.

Hou at TEBA said they place highest priority on the quality of the project. 

"Here in Pakistan we have carried out the project with a deep sense of national pride. To make sure the plant could be finished in time, parts and equipment were shipped in by sea and by road. Some of the urgently needed components were flown in directly. Speedy execution means high cost, but you know, we are in here for long," said Hou.