HOVING into view behind a row of eucalyptus trees, the twin cooling towers of the Sahiwal power plant, a 1,320-megawatt facility in central Pakistan, are so large they seem other-worldly. Yet it is not only size that makes an impression. Labourers built the entire plant in a record 22 months, a year faster than is typical. “Even at home we don’t work this hard,” says the chief engineer of the Chinese power company that operates Sahiwal, describing how floodlights were hung from cranes so construction could continue through the night.
Pakistan’s government is hungry for power. Last month the chief minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif, announced that his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which also runs the national government, will shortly fulfil its campaign promise to end blackouts.
Fridges and fans still cut out without warning, but far less often, and for less time: in August the gap between supply and...Continue reading
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