KARACHI, Nov 19: The world’s largest ship-based power plant will begin feeding 230 megawatts into the national grid next month, a spokesman for the vessel’s Turkish owner said on Friday. The Kaya Bey, which burns furnace oil, now lies at anchor off the Karachi port. The ship will begin supplying the country with electricity within four weeks of a dedication ceremony slated for Sunday, according to Asad Mahmood, the spokesman for Karkey Karadeniz Electrik, the firm which owns the ship.

The vessel’s contribution will, however, make only a dent in the power shortage as demand outstrips supply by 5,000 megawatts.

The vessel will be anchored at a designated point near Ibrahim Hyderi on Nov 24 for five years, Mr Mahmood said.

It has come to Karachi under an agreement with Pepco, which at the moment supplies about 700MW to KESC.

Mr Mahmood said that owners of the ship-borne power plant had received environmental certification.

He said for two to three weeks connectivity facilities would be tested before commencing actual operations.

On-ground connectivity facilities have been provided by KESC, whose circuit will be the conduit through which electricity will be distributed. However, it was not yet clear whether the power generated by the plant will be supplied to KESC directly or it will be fed into the Pepco’s system.

It was also not clear whether the supply from the ship-borne plant will be for the KESC in addition to the existing supply or the equivalent power supply will be curtailed and diverted to other Pepco-supplied areas. The tariff of rental power was also not clear.

The Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping, Babar Ghauri, visited the ship along with media on Friday and thanked the Turkish government and the prime minister for the move.

He said that with the arrival of the ship, Pepco should not curtail its supply to Karachi.