Pakistan uses power plant for emergency oxygen production for COVID-19 patients

Karachi: Pakistan has successfully utilised for the first time one of its power generation plants for generating oxygen for emergency treatment of coronavirus patients.

This was disclosed by Sindh Law and Environment Adviser, Barrister Murtaza Wahab, who also acts as the spokesman for the Sindh government, while addressing a press conference here on Monday.

Wahab said the Jamshoro Power Company Ltd in the province had modified its process of electrolysis to produce oxygen for medical use.

He said the power generation plant in the District Jamshoro of Sindh would produce 268,000 litres of oxygen for medical purposes. “This quantity of oxygen will be sufficient to treat coronavirus patients at the three public sector health facilities of Jamshoro and nearby Hyderabad.”

He said Jamshoro’s district administration had lent support to the power plant to utilise its electrolysis system for producing oxygen for medical use.

He said Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had earlier asked the administrative officials of his government to explore alternative means available in for urgently producing oxygen amid increase in the cases of coronavirus.

He disclosed that the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research had also certified that oxygen experimentally produced by Jamshoro power plant was fit for medical use. “The management, staff of the power plant and the district administration in Jamshoro surely deserve praise that they worked during Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr holidays to make available this alternative arrangement for oxygen generation,” he said.

He said there were at least two other power plants in Sindh - one at Lakhra and the other one in Kotri - whose electrolysis systems could be utilised for oxygen generation in a similar manner.

He said the Sindh CM had assured full support to utilise this method for producing oxygen during the COVID-19 emergency.