Located in the Indus Plain on the South Asian subcontinent, Pakistan is a nation with a long history and a profound culture where power supply ran short for many years and even failed to meet the needs of people’s everyday life and the country’s economic growth. It was against such a backdrop that China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) got into Pakistan’s power project contracting market thirty years ago. Since then, CMEC has endeavored to bring about exciting changes on this ancient land, despite all the challenges. With power plants built and put into operation one after another, CMEC has brought tangible benefits to local people and made its due contribution to the development of the country’s power industry.

Over the past three decades, CMEC builders have been sent in groups to Pakistan. There, they have worked hard with no complaint and notched up one success after another. The first came in 1983 when they delivered the 210MW fuel-fired Generating Unit 4 for the Guddu power plant. Following projects include the 210MW fuel/gas-fired Units 2, 3, & 4 for the Jamshoro power plant completed in 1991, the 2×210MW fuel/gas-fired Units 5 & 6 for the Muzaffargarh power plant completed in 1995, the 320MW fuel/gas-fired Unit 4 for the Muzaffargarh power plant completed at the end of 1997, the gate & hydraulic hoist equipment for the 5×300MW Ghazi-Barotha hydropower plant completed in 2002, the 3000KW hydropower plant completed in 2004, the turnkey project of the 225MW Saif combined-cycle power plant completed in 2010, and the NEELUM-JHELUM hydropower plant under construction.

The 210MW fuel-fired Unit 4 of the Guddu power plant represents China’s debut in the international thermal power market and the first international engineering project China has contracted and built based on export seller’s credit. Top Chinese enterprises formed the most competitive project team and it took the team nearly three years to complete the project, 22 days ahead of schedule. Through the project, CMEC made a successful shift from an industrial and trade company to an outstanding players in China’s international project contracting sector.
The Saif combined-cycle power plant, whose contract was signed in May 2007, is the world’s first power plant with a dual-fuel 6FA gas turbine unit. With the joint efforts of the entire project team, no major equipment quality or safety related accidents happened from the debugging stage to the end of the warranty period; the unit maintained stable operation and passed the stability test successfully. The final completion certificate was awarded in December 2011. It was put into operation one month ahead of schedule despite that construction had started half a year later than three other units of the same category in Pakistan.

CMEC contracted the NEELUM-JHELUM hydropower plant project in 2007, for the design, supply, installation and construction of metal structures, and electrical and mechanical engineering. The power plant, known as the “Three Gorges Project in Pakistan”, is the largest one of its kind in the country with the largest underground works in Asia and the largest surge shaft in the world.
From the Guddu power plant to the NEELUM-JHELUM hydropower plant, CMEC has witnessed the initial development of power plants in foreign countries. Based on the understanding of international practice and rules about contracting international power project, CMEC has developed its rules and approaches for the management of international projects as well as a team with strong international trade background and rich hands-on and technical experience in the organization and management of international projects.

Through 30 years of endeavor, CMEC has grown into a leading international project contractor and service provider. The international projects it has contracted and the international trade it has engaged in involve more than 150 countries and regions across the five continents. The projects cover such fields as electrical power, transport, electronic communications, housing construction, manufacturing and processing plants, environmental protection, mining and resource exploitation. Its performance in the electrical power sector is particularly outstanding. By the end of 2011, CMEC had completed three 600MW supercritical coal-fired power plants.

Looking back at those hard years in Pakistan’s power project contracting market, CMEC will continue to press ahead and make the greatest efforts to promote the cooperation with Pakistan in an all-round and in-depth manner and push the China-Pakistan friendship to a new stage, based on the principle of sincerity and mutual benefit.