News

India's Lanco Infratech is seeking $5.6bn in loans to fund power generation projects in India over the next 15 months.

Pakistan and Russia on Thursday signed four Memorandum of Understandings on energy cooperation, air space, promotion of investment and cooperation in agriculture sectors. The MoU on energy cooperation was signed by Advisor to Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr. Asim Hussain and Russian Minister for Energy Sergei Shnatro. The MoU on agriculture cooperation was signed by Russian Acting Minister for Agriculture Kovolev while Pakistan Minister for Agriculture and Food was represented by Pakistan envoy in Moscow Mohammad Khalid Khattak while the MoU on promotion of investment between the two countries was signed on Wednesday between the two countries by Chairman Board of Investment Salim H Mandviwala and chairman Russian National Investment Agency. President Asif Ali Zardari and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev witnessed the signing ceremony. The MoU in energy fields would encourage development of Pakistan’s oil and gas fields, development of petroleum and natural gas storages in Pakistan, improvement of Pakistan’s natural gas infrastructure, project for using natural gas as a motor fuel. A Russian Company Stroytransgaz,  as said in the joint communiqu’, has expressed keen desire to build transnational gas pipeline projects of Pakistan from Turkmenistan, Iran or Qatar. Similarly, Gazprom Geoservice Petroleum Company has agreed to construct oil and gas storage facilities and would also help in the training of Pakistani oil and gas experts and the experts of leading Russian companies have already visited Pakistan. For promotion of agriculture in Pakistan, the main Russian automobile manufacturers are interested to invest in Pakistan and the MoU on  agriculture sector would promote the agriculture sector of Pakistan. For the promotion of investment in Pakistan, Lada is interested to manufacture cars of 1300 cc, Samara to manufacture cars of 800 cc, Nova group to manufacture 800 cc cars. There is also a proposal by Russian companies Chelyabinsk and Traktorexport for manufacture of Russian tractors in Pakistan. The Russian businessmen are keen to invest in Pakistan in telecommunication, banking, energy and infrastructure building and expansion of Pakistan Steel Mills Karachi.

Pakistan opened a 330 MW nuclear plant built with the help of China.

Bangladesh signed contracts with two companies to set up three base-load power plants and one peaking plant having total generation capacity of 1167 MW.

Sarawak Energy Berhad and Sarawak Hidro Sdn Berhad have agreed on the main terms of the power purchase agreement for electricity produced by Bakun hydro dam.

FICCI has called for a higher priority in allocation of coal to the power sector.

Japan approved a plan to help TEPCO compensate victims of the crisis at its tsunami-crippled nuclear plant. It will also save TEPCO from financial collapse.

Tokuyama will make further inroads into the lucrative solar industry by more than tripling polysilicon production from its Malaysian and Japanese facilities.

A consortium of Mitsui and Daewoo E&C will construct a 700MW coal-fired power plant in Morocco.

Altona Energy will apply Rentech's technologies in gasification of coal and biomass at its Arckaringa project located in South Australia.

TEPCO will restart operations at two of its thermal power plants in Japan to remedy shortages during the peak season.

China Gezhouba Group plans to construct a $1bn hydroelectric power plant in Indonesia's Sulawesi Selatan province.

Security management in Chinese nuclear plants should be further improved with plans drawn up for extreme disasters, as well as secondary ones, said Zhao Chengkun, vice chairman of the China Nuclear Energy Association.

 Seventy-seven per cent of the work at Tata Power's 4,000 MW Mundra ultra mega power project has been completed.

Adani Power plans to double its power generation capacity to 3,960MW in the current fiscal year.

ABB won an order worth about $15 million from Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd.