BNU Project The 586 MW Uch Power Station (Uch-I), owned and operated by Uch Power (Private) Limited (UPL), an IFC client, has been in operation since 2000. In March 2007, the Government of Pakistan (GOP) through the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) requested UPL to submit a bid for a capacity expansion to the existing plant. The expansion was designed to utilize the supply of indigenous gas in the Uch Gas Field (UGF) and to increase the supply of low cost power to the country. UPL proposed a 404 MW combined cycle expansion project (Uch II or the Project) on a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) basis. All energy that would be produced by the Project would be sold to the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement, backed by a GOP Guarantee. An Implementation Agreement would be signed prior to financial close that would entail the GOPs support for the project and would also lay out the rights and obligations of all parties.

The proposed expansion will be structure as a standalone Independent Power Plant (IPP) and will be built on the site of the first plant, utilizing the available vacant land, and will use some of the existing physical and management infrastructure. The project will use the indigenous gas that is available in the UGF and is being used by the first plant. In addition to the infrastructure, the project will benefit from synergies with the existing plant in the form of a shared management team as well as common utilization of O&M resources and administrative staff. The synergies are expected to result in a shorter construction period as well as reduced overall project costs which would result in a more competitive tariff for the project. Similar to the operating 586 MW Uch-I plant, the Project is expected to be one of the lowest cost producers of power in the country and would be in line with IFCs strategy to support the development of low cost thermal power and help improve sector operating costs. The Project is expected to have solid economic and developmental impact, because it will: 

reduce the level of costly un-served electricity and meet incremental demand for power, thereby encouraging economic growth; 
create a demonstration effect in the country and help revive dampened investor confidence in light of the recent macroeconomic crisis. IFCs presence in the project would provide a signal to the international investment community and would also play a major role in attracting the interest of other financial institutions in providing funding for the project.
contribute to increase the countrys much needed installed capacity using an indigenous energy  resource and thereby increase energy security of supply;
contribute to lowering the average economic cost of power generation in Pakistan; 
have significant environmental benefits compared to alternative thermal power generation fueled by liquid or solid fuels due to gaseous fuel's advantages of relatively lower generation of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants;
create jobs during the Project construction and operations phase; 
reduce reliance on imported and expensive fuel oil, reduce the drain on the countrys scarce foreign exchange resources and help to offset the countrys trade and current account deficits; and 
help improve the country's CO2 emissions performance, as the project is expected to make use of the most modern and environment-friendly technology (combined cycle gas turbine) with high thermal generation efficiency.