Sindh Chief Minister Invites Shanghai Electric to Invest in Karachi Desalination, Wind and Solar Power and Battery Storage

SHANGHAI: Shanghai Electric investment in Sindh could soon reach well beyond the Thar desert. Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah used a meeting at the group’s headquarters, with Chairman Wu Lei and senior executives, to call for a new phase of cooperation — and the list he carried was long: seawater desalination for Karachi, wind and solar projects, battery storage, coal value-addition industries and training for Sindh’s own engineers. The two sides also reviewed the company’s ongoing projects in the province.

Seawater for a thirsty Karachi

The centrepiece was water. Shah invited Shanghai Electric to explore a large-scale seawater desalination plant for Karachi under Sindh’s public-private partnership framework. “Karachi urgently requires innovative and long-term water solutions. We believe Shanghai Electric’s expertise in desalination technology can contribute significantly to addressing this challenge,” he said. Company officials briefed him on their plant in China’s Hebei province, which treats tens of thousands of tonnes of water a day.

Wind, sun — and Thar’s next chapter

The chief minister pointed to Sindh’s wind corridor — one of the largest in the region, he said — and its solar resources, inviting the company into upcoming renewable projects, storage systems and related industry, including possible local manufacturing. For Thar, his ambitions now run past power generation: coal-to-chemicals, coal research, briquetting technology and using mine water for farming all came up. He praised Shanghai Electric’s Thar Block-I mine and power project, credited it with showing what Pakistan’s own coal could do, and pressed the company to train and employ more young people from Thar, particularly women. Wu Lei and his executives welcomed the proposals and reaffirmed the group’s commitment to Pakistan’s energy and industrial development.