Govt sells scrap of outdated power plants for Rs46.73b

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has “successfully sold” scrap from non-functional and outdated power plants for over Rs46.73 billion, Power Division said on Friday.

The sale deal was cracked under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s directive to ease the financial burden on the national exchequer, it said in a statement.

The sale involved scrap from 61 units, with a total reserve price of Rs45.81 billion as determined by experts from the State Bank of Pakistan. The final sale fetched a higher-than-expected Rs46.73 billion through a transparent process.

(1/5) پرانے اور ناکارہ سرکاری تھرمل پاور پلانٹس کے ملبے کی 46.73 ارب روپے میں کامیاب فروخت، وزیر اعظم کی ہدایت پر بڑا قدم مکمل pic.twitter.com/IGobbOsbzR

— MOE- Power Division, Government of Pakistan (@MoWP15) July 25, 2025

The first phase saw 16 units sold to private bidders for Rs8.47 billion, against a reserve price of Rs7.59 billion. In the second phase, scrap from 30 more government-owned plants was sold for Rs38.25 billion – slightly above the reserve price of Rs38.22 billion.

The Power Division stated that the second phase also included units from Jamshoro Blocks I and II, Guddu II, Sukkur, Quetta, Muzaffargarh Blocks I and II, and Faisalabad.

“These outdated plants were a recurring financial burden, costing the treasury billions annually,” the ministry noted. It added that employees from these plants have been redeployed to power distribution companies to utilise their expertise more effectively.

According to the ministry, the move would directly benefit the public, as the capacity charges of these idle plants had been contributing to consumers’ electricity bills, which are now expected to reduce.

1320MW Shanghai Electric thar coal based plant inaugurated ✅✅

This plant will produce 9-10Bn units at a variable cost of approx 2 cents

Total cost below 6 cents per KWh at 85% utilisation which is very likely

🇵🇰🇵🇰 needs more thar coal investmentshttps://t.co/MpvB1IGuXv

— Abdul Rehman Najam (@AbdulRehman0292) March 22, 2023

It may be added here that in December last year, PM Shehbaz called for shutting down inefficient and outdated power plants that produced less power with higher fuel consumption.

“The closure of such power plants will not only save valuable foreign exchange spent on fuel imports, but also reduce the cost of electricity for consumers,” he said while chairing a meeting on power generation.

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