Oracle Power (LON:ORCP) has appointed a local expert as chief executive to expedite the financial close of its coal-fired power station project in Pakistan.
Naheed Memon, who joined the board as a non-executive earlier this month has now become CEO with a remit to manage the delivery of the Thar project on the ground in Pakistan.
Ms Memon was previously Chair of the Sindh Board of Investment (Government of Sindh), the province where Thar is located.
READ: Oracle Power gets approval for larger power station at Thar in Pakistan
She replaces Shahrukh Khan who will remain as an executive director and work in the UK and Europe to further increase the awareness of the Oracle investment case.
Oracle recently announced a change in partners at Thar with Chinese energy giant Beijing Jingneng Power Company (BJPC) taking a majority stake.
Along with its other joint venture partner, PowerChina, Oracle is developing a 700Mw coal-fired electricity plant in Pakistan’s Thar province.
BJPC, which is listed in Shanghai and worth around US$3bn will own 78% of the project, Oracle will retain its 12.1% stake, while PowerChina will hold the remaining 9.9%.
Mark Steed, Oracle’s chairman, added: "This fresh assignment of duties will ensure the Oracle Board is best positioned to monitor and subsequently execute the steps required to bring the Thar project to financial close.“
Memon’s career spans both the public and private sectors in Pakistan.
As well as numerous roles in her family’s firm Kings Group of Industries, Memon was chief executive of London consultant Advici and Manzil Pakistan, a public policy think tank based in Karachi.
At the Sindh Board of Investment (Government of Sindh), she was Vice Chair from 2013 – 2016 and Chair until August 2018.