CHENGDU: A joint China-Pakistan coal-fired power plant has signed a loan contract worth $1.5 billion with banks in China, Xinhua news agency reported.

Hubco Coal Power Plant, which is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, raised the amount from a consortium of banks led by the China Development Bank.

The news agency said that the construction of the power plant, costing about $2 billion, began in March by the China Power Hub Generation Company, a joint venture of Pakistan's Hub Power Holdings Ltd. and China Power International Investment Ltd.

The project has a total capacity of 1.32 gigawatts and includes two coal-based power plants with a capacity of 660 MW each.

The power plant is expected to start operating in August 2019, eventually producing 9 billion kwh, meeting needs of 4 million Pakistani households and creating 10,000 jobs in the country, Xinhua said.