KARACHI: Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) has signed two separate Coal Supply Agreements with Thar Energy Limited (TEL) and ThalNova to supply 1.9 million tones of coal per annum to each of the power generating companies.
SECMC officials sharing details of the agreements here on Monday said this will help increase share of indigenous resource into the energy mix of the province.
TEL and ThalNova are setting up mine-mouth power plants of 330 Mega watts each at Thar Coal Block II, fully capable of running 100 percent on Thar coal.
Both the power plants are scheduled to be commissioned by early 2020, said the SECMC officials.
After commissioning of these two projects, SECMA would be mining 7.6 million tones per annum of coal from Thar Block-II which will reduce the coal tariff to approximately USD 41.35 per tonne, which will be equivalent to imported coal on USD/MMBtu basis.
Earlier in April 2016, SECMC and Engro Powergen Thar Limited (EPTL.) achieved combined Financial Close to supply 3.8 million tones per annum of coal to EPTL.
Currently, a project to mine 3.8 MTPA and 660MWs power plant is progressing ahead of schedule and is expected to come online by June 2019.
It was mentioned that ThalNova is a joint venture between Thal Power (Private) Limited and Nova powergen Limited subsidiaries of Thal Limited and Novatex Limited respectively.
Thar Energy Limited (TEL) was mentioned to be the subsidiary of Hub Power Company Limited (Hubco), which is one of the largest IPPs in Pakistan.
The Coal Supply Agreements were signed by SECMC's CEO, Shamsuddin Shaikh and Khalid Mansoor, CEO of HUBCO and Thar Energy Limited alongwith Khalid Siraj Subhani and Rana Zulfiqar of ThalNova respectively.
SECMC chief, Shamsuddin Shaikh on the occasion said the company was aggressively pursuing expansion of its mining project with an aim to address electricity shortage in the country and to provide affordable electricity to the public.
He said use of indigenous coal was essential to ensure energy security of the country, in the long run.
"It will not only become cheaper than the imported coal as the mine expands but will also have its side benefits as employment opportunities for locals, infrastructure development besides significant savings in terms of foreign exchange.
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