CPEC News and Discussions

[Bilal]

Maybe in 50 years.

They are at trial stage with large scale commercial unit in 2030.

A 1.5Billion dollar investment needs decades to be feasible.

Would love to see polymer plant based on that coal gasification though.

 

[SteppeWolff]

That tech is going to be cheaper, the input is air and water done at room temperature and at 15 times atmospheric pressure compared to 500C and 200 times pressure, so lower energy costs.

Plus it’s scalable from few hundred kg unit to industrial scale.

Bro, that process requires literally huge amounts of electricity, besides just air and water. Its just the basic chemistry of that reaction.

On a large scale, its gonna be less viable for us imho considering how high the electricity costs are in pk.

 

[Bilal]

Bro, that process requires literally huge amounts of electricity, besides just air and water. Its just the basic chemistry of that reaction.

On a large scale, its gonna be less viable for us imho considering how high the electricity costs are in pk.

Solar/wind, water, air.

 

[SteppeWolff]

Solar/wind, water, air.

Youd still need grid support, batteries,
hydrogen buffering, oversized generation capacity, or backup systems due to nature of solar and wind energy that are intermittent compared to traditional process. The costs will baloon

 

[Bilal]

Youd still need grid support, batteries,
hydrogen buffering, oversized generation capacity, or backup systems due to nature of solar and wind energy that are intermittent compared to traditional process. The costs will baloon

It seems to be the EV moment. We can and will go ahead the traditional route but this thing will be cheaper. That’s for sure.

 

[Fatman17]

Fauji Fertilizer Company has signed a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) agreement with China’s Hualu Engineering and Technology Co. Ltd for a $1.12 billion coal-to-fertilizer project that the company says will be Pakistan’s first of its kind under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) 2.0 framework.

FFC announced the development in a social media statement on Saturday, saying the agreement was signed in China on May 24, 2026.

The proposed plant is expected to produce 717,000 tons of urea annually while consuming around 2.1 million tons of indigenous coal each year, according to the company. Commercial operations are planned for 2030-31.

The project is expected to support domestic fertilizer availability while increasing the use of local energy resources as Pakistan attempts to reduce pressure from imported inputs and external financing costs.

FFC said the initiative reflects its focus on industrial expansion, resource optimization, and long-term economic growth.

The agreement comes amid renewed efforts by Pakistan to attract Chinese investment under the second phase of CPEC cooperation.

Pakistan and China recently agreed to deepen collaboration on the “high-quality development” of CPEC during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing, according to a joint statement issued after the trip.

The two countries also reaffirmed support for wider participation in future CPEC projects as Islamabad seeks to expand industrial and infrastructure investment under the corridor’s next phase.

Posted already

 

[Michael]

It seems to be the EV moment. We can and will go ahead the traditional route but this thing will be cheaper. That’s for sure.

Currently, the true potential of China's electric vehicle industry has not yet been fully realized. Therefore, it's difficult to see and buy truly high-quality Chinese electric vehicles outside of China.

If you're considering buying one and have a sufficient budget, I suggest you wait.

 

[Bilal]

Youd still need grid support, batteries,
hydrogen buffering, oversized generation capacity, or backup systems due to nature of solar and wind energy that are intermittent compared to traditional process. The costs will baloon

My apologies. Did some research and you are right, even after offsetting input feed cost and energy saved in haber Bosch high temperature and pressure requirements. The McFarlen process is twice as expensive at its current stage.

Haber Bosch has still at least couple of decades of price advantage.

 

[Asif]

Fauji Fertilizer Company has signed a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) agreement with China’s Hualu Engineering and Technology Co. Ltd for a $1.12 billion coal-to-fertilizer project that the company says will be Pakistan’s first of its kind under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) 2.0 framework.

FFC announced the development in a social media statement on Saturday, saying the agreement was signed in China on May 24, 2026.

The proposed plant is expected to produce 717,000 tons of urea annually while consuming around 2.1 million tons of indigenous coal each year, according to the company. Commercial operations are planned for 2030-31.

The project is expected to support domestic fertilizer availability while increasing the use of local energy resources as Pakistan attempts to reduce pressure from imported inputs and external financing costs.

FFC said the initiative reflects its focus on industrial expansion, resource optimization, and long-term economic growth.

The agreement comes amid renewed efforts by Pakistan to attract Chinese investment under the second phase of CPEC cooperation.

Pakistan and China recently agreed to deepen collaboration on the “high-quality development” of CPEC during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing, according to a joint statement issued after the trip.

The two countries also reaffirmed support for wider participation in future CPEC projects as Islamabad seeks to expand industrial and infrastructure investment under the corridor’s next phase.

717k tons is close to the fauji jordon or fauji karachi plant production of 800k tons. In a best season this is roughly the amount of urea pakistan is deficient of. This is an excellent development, one that was pursued by engro fertiliser as well before they backed out of their majority share holding in Thar coal and are now focusing on their mobile tower business and exploring new sectors.
However, the problem now is that fauji group is becoming too entrenched in most sectors which will ultimately decrease competitiveness across the country. I am not anti army but anti dominance by one group. One needs to see the way sugar industry is a political elite industry with alot of direct and indirect profits.
Fauji group even now is the biggest fertilizer company, 4th biggest cement producer, askari bank is growing since Fauji group took it over from AWT and is amongst the top 8 banks now, fauji food is now back on track after starting export of buffalo milk and products to China, fauji grp backed out of PIA bidding only to acquire 30% of shares later, mari energy is controlled by fauji grp (40% shares), after the Bahria town fiasco DHA/Askari are the biggest property developers of the country, power plants (wind, low Btu, thermal) under the foundation and fauji name plate are also run by the fauji group, and the fauji group is a major player in storage and distribution of LPG and oil storage and distribution.
Where I do understand the need to generate cash for retired personnel, in the absence of a valid and independent competition commission and the rapid approval and progress on the pre and post construction of their projects, the ease of doing business is rapidly skewed in favor of fauji grp.
The country is suffering from the hold of 2 dozen families since its independence, this grp is now 2 dozen +1, thereby nullifying the possibility of a future where there can be a fair competition in their relevant sectors. With a scarcity of raw material or expertise for alottttt of sectors (chemical, steel, plastic, metallurgy, IT infrastructure, oil based etc), the options left for new enterants are either too difficult, have a longer ROI or simply to play safe and enter the real estate.

 

[mythbuster]

717k tons is close to the fauji jordon or fauji karachi plant production of 800k tons. In a best season this is roughly the amount of urea pakistan is deficient of. This is an excellent development one that was pursued by engro fertiliser as well before they backed out of their majority share holder in charcoal and are noe focusing on their mobile tower business and exploring new sectors.
however the problem now is that fauji group is m becoming too entrenched in most sectors which will ultimately decrease competitiveness across the country. I am not anti army but anti dominance by one group. one needs to see the way sugar industry is a political elite industry with alot of direct and indirect profit.
Fauji group even now is the biggest fertilizer company, 4th biggest cement producer, askari bank is growing since Fauji group took it over from AWT and is amongst the top 8 banks now, fauji food is now back on track after starting export of buffalo milk and products to China, fauji grp backed out of PIA bidding only to acquire 30% of shares later, mari energy is controlled by fauji grp (40% shares), after the Bahria town fiasco DHA/Askari are the biggest property developers of the country, power plants (wind, low Btu, thermal) under foundation and fauji name plate are also run by fauji group, and fauji group is a major player in storage and distribution of LPG and oil storage and distribution.
where i do understand the need to generate cash for retired personnel, in the absence of a valid and independent competition commission and the rapid approval and progress on the pre and post construction of projects the ease of doing business is rapidly skewed in favor of fauji grp. The country is suffering from the hold of 2 dozen families since its independence, this grp is now 2 dozen +1 thereby nullifying the possibility of a future where there can be a fair competition in their relevant sectors. with a scarcity of raw material ir expertise for alottttt of sectors (chemical, steel, plastic, metallurgy, IT infrastructure, oil based etc), the option left are either too difficult, have a longer ROI or to play safe and enter real estate.

Good to know that you have basic understanding of business groups of Pakistan....Mabub ul haque mantra of 22 families led to the destruction of Pakistan economy and you are starting new one of 15 families ,, God save Pakistan from populists ...
Fauji group is not getting any preferential treatment , it entered into business when other were shying away from investing in the country...it's businesses are efficiently run ( fauji food is still underperforming) , paying taxes and dividends.....you need big corporations and accumulation of capital for R&D and investments.

 

[Asif]

Good to know that you have basic understanding of business groups of Pakistan....Mabub ul haque mantra of 22 families led to the destruction of Pakistan economy and you are starting new one of 15 families ,, God save Pakistan from populists ...
Fauji group is not getting any preferential treatment , it entered into business when other were shying away from investing in the country...it's businesses are efficiently run ( fauji food is still underperforming) , paying taxes and dividends.....you need big corporations and accumulation of capital for R&D and investments.

Sir, I beg to disagree.
I will give u a few examples.
FFC gets gas from Mari gas fields around Daharki and so does Engro and Fatima. Infact Esso feriliser or Exxon fertiliser, now called engro fertiliser was construced only after the discovery of mari gas fields. Please chck the rates being given to the 3 major companies and I am not talking of the enven plant by engro which is on Sui network.
Another example is thar coal gasification project. Get hold of some one from current or recently retired Engro senior grp and enquire what happened between the meetings of sindh government and engro leadership for 3 to 4 yrs before any work could start, why engro sold its stake after going through hell to construct the 1st indigenous coal power plant and why it backed out of this coal gas based fertiliser plant half a decade or more ago.
Lastly, since u mentioned FFL, their plant is running at 35 to 40% capacity and they were unable to break in to nestle, and olper dominance whereas local competition (anhar, haleem, prema) was not a problem. However, how they received the local and approvals from China at such a quick speed is anybody's guess.
Lastly, by law, any and every industry in Pakistan has to pay taxes. The difference is with what they can get away with, the raw material game and the approvals for growth and mergers. Fauji group has a clear and unrivaled advantage there.

 

[mythbuster]

Sir, I beg to disagree.
I will give u a few examples.
FFC gets gas from Mari gas fields around Daharki and so does Engro and Fatima. Infact Esso feriliser or Exxon fertiliser, now called engro fertiliser was construced only after the discovery of mari gas fields. Please chck the rates being given to the 3 major companies and I am not talking of the enven plant by engro which is on Sui network.
Another example is thar coal gasification project. Get hold of some one from current or recently retired Engro senior grp and enquire what happened between the meetings of sindh government and engro leadership for 3 to 4 yrs before any work could start, why engro sold its stake after going through hell to construct the 1st indigenous coal power plant and why it backed out of this coal gas based fertiliser plant half a decade or more ago.
Lastly, since u mentioned FFL, their plant is running at 35 to 40% capacity and they were unable to break in to nestle, and olper dominance whereas local competition (anhar, haleem, prema) was not a problem. However, how they received the local and approvals from China at such a quick speed is anybody's guess.
Lastly, by law, any and every industry in Pakistan has to pay taxes. The difference is with what they can get away with, the raw material game and the approvals for growth and mergers. Fauji group has a clear and unrivaled advantage there.

Yes , all three get gas from Dharki , however , you are , maybe unintentionally, overlooking certain facts...1) ffc until recently was providing fertiliser at much cheaper rates than the others ...2 ) Mari is owned by fauji group and it's natural to give preference to sister companies.,..btw , Mari has on of the best drilling success rates in the world.......FFL has the largest infrastructure of any food group in Pakistan , it was and still is overstaffed and inefficient...I don't know about the the approval thingy , if it happened as you say , I will take it as a positive not negative.....I like the engro group , very upright and probably the only honest business in the country....they are under liquidity constraints right now for two reasons 1) heavy investment in towers business and 2 ) constantly paying high dividends left them with comparatively smaller reserves..... probably that's the reason for backing out of the tharcoal project.

 

[Asif]

Yes , all three get gas from Dharki , however , you are , maybe unintentionally, overlooking certain facts...1) ffc until recently was providing fertiliser at much cheaper rates than the others ...2 ) Mari is owned by fauji group and it's natural to give preference to sister companies.,..btw , Mari has on of the best drilling success rates in the world.......FFL has the largest infrastructure of any food group in Pakistan , it was and still is overstaffed and inefficient...I don't know about the the approval thingy , if it happened as you say , I will take it as a positive not negative.....I like the engro group , very upright and probably the only honest business in the country....they are under liquidity constraints right now for two reasons 1) heavy investment in towers business and 2 ) constantly paying high dividends left them with comparatively smaller reserves..... probably that's the reason for backing out of the tharcoal project.

Well, u kind of supported my remarks.
FFC was able to sell urea at a lower rate as their feedstock is cheaper.. though being from the same source. As I said earlier, the oldest plant in Mari gas is Engro but FFC gets cheaper gas. Fertiliser plants use gas as feedstock. Secondly, u also supported my other comment around a toothless competition commission as in a just world such a preference to a sister or any other preferred company in the sector is always debated and prevented before acquisition of shares or atleast majority of shares. Mari energy supplies to 5/6 fertiliser plants in total, engro being the oldest and the initial plant on their network and FFC gets the cheapest gas. Your argument would have been more relevant had u mentioned the gas pricing policy on which the gas purchase agreement are based, however there are pros and cons on that front too. I am not going into the details of acquisition of NFC plant @ mirpur mathelo about 2 to 2.5 decades ago.
About FFL, please see why no other company was "ever" able to get through with the government approval stage before the food and safety approvals from the target company and country could be progressed with. We are the top 5 producer of milk globally, why only now and why only FFL?
Another point in favour of ease of business to fauji group would be to recall the interview of malik riaz in print and electronic media around how he was able to get approvals of projects. ... esp the construction of mall of lahore, which was delayed for decades as it was rt opposite the core comdr house lahore. how he got the approval and after the hiring of what management is gud to know for doing business here.

Lastly, since u mentioned, Engro has a dividend pay out ratio of 80 to 90%, it is loosing money in EPCL (trying to sell it now), spent alot of money on tower business and has divested out of thar coal, Food business, rice business and the IT business. I suspect that just like the tower business came out of nowhere, they would enter another project/field in the near future. Overall, i agree, Engro has to be the best and the most transparent pakistani company.

 

[mythbuster]

Well, u kind of supported my remarks.
FFC was able to sell urea at a lower rate as their feedstock is cheaper.. though being from the same source. As I said earlier, the oldest plant in Mari gas is Engro but FFC gets cheaper gas. Fertiliser plants use gas as feedstock. Secondly, u also supported my other comment around a toothless competition commission as in a just world such a preference to a sister or any other preferred company in the sector is always debated and prevented before acquisition of shares or atleast majority of shares. Mari energy supplies to 5/6 fertiliser plants in total, engro being the oldest and the initial plant on their network and FFC gets the cheapest gas. Your argument would have been more relevant had u mentioned the gas pricing policy on which the gas purchase agreement are based, however there are pros and cons on that front too. I am not going into the details of acquisition of NFC plant @ mirpur mathelo about 2 to 2.5 decades ago.
About FFL, please see why no other company was "ever" able to get through with the government approval stage before the food and safety approvals from the target company and country could be progressed with. We are the top 5 producer of milk globally, why only now and why only FFL?
Another point in favour of ease of business to fauji group would be to recall the interview of malik riaz in print and electronic media around how he was able to get approvals of projects. ... esp the construction of mall of lahore, which was delayed for decades as it was rt opposite the core comdr house lahore. how he got the approval and after the hiring of what management is gud to know for doing business here.

Lastly, since u mentioned, Engro has a dividend pay out ratio of 80 to 90%, it is loosing money in EPCL (trying to sell it now), spent alot of money on tower business and has divested out of thar coal, Food business, rice business and the IT business. I suspect that just like the tower business came out of nowhere, they would enter another project/field in the near future. Overall, i agree, Engro has to be the best and the most transparent pakistani company.

Couple of things for you to consider ...1) ffc has direct pipeline with Dharki....2) engro gets the gas through ssgc network and has to pay for the service provided by ssgc.....
FFC gas rates are conditional , it has to supply fertiliser at government approved rates.

 

[Asif]

Couple of things for you to consider ...1) ffc has direct pipeline with Dharki....2) engro gets the gas through ssgc network and has to pay for the service provided by ssgc.....
FFC gas rates are conditional , it has to supply fertiliser at government approved rates.

This is also totally wrong.
it seems u are mistaken and have also not read my posts above. I told u above, Engro (prev. esso... exxon) was formed around 1970s in response to the gas discovered near daharki. The base plant still works on Mari gas. The Enven 1 plant, installed approx. 2.5 decades ago, is on sui network which as i pointed out earlier is not being discussed here.
Secondly, where is FFC plant 1 and 2, well @ machi goth, about 60kms from Daharki, 10kms before Rahim yar khan. The newest of all the plants was by Fatima fertilizer which is 2 decades old and is 5kms from FFC plant 1/2.

For the record, I have extensively visited all the 3 fertiliser companies and have tons of friends who are working there or have worked there.