Activities resume at Thar coalfield

Several local and foreign companies have resumed activities at Thar coalfield following the announcement of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani that the government will establish new power generating units of 2200 MW capacity in one year.
Official sources at Sindh Coal Authority told Business Recorder on Friday that during last few days many companies restarted surveys and mining activities at the area possessing nearly 170 billion tons of coal. The companies stopped their activities at the field because of dispute over upfront tariff with National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, sources claimed.
The companies including those eight firms who had signed MOUs with the government for coal mining and power plants had stopped work at their sites after this dispute, sources added.
Oracle Coal Field (Pvt) Ltd, a foreign company that signed MoU with the government for establishing a 300MW capacity generating power plant, has started the drilling of first borehole at its allocated area in Block VI of the field, sources maintained.
They said that an eight-member team has arrived from England comprising Australian and English mining experts. The team would supervise the drilling activity. An official of SCA said that Oracle would set up 300MW plant at a cost of around $450 million. But the amount could vary with generation capacity expansion or reduction, he added.
He said that many other companies have submitted their feasibility reports for development of coalmines and establishment of power plants at the field that was under review by the committee formed by SCA for the purpose.
The feasibility studies would determine quality and quantity of coal which could be economically and safely mined, handled and transported to power plants, he added. However, the official maintained that the authority lacks mining experts causing delay in the process. He was also annoyed over Nepra's failure to offer permissible tariff to companies terming it a chief factor for the delay.
The official said that Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf is expected to visit Karachi in next few days where he would chair a meeting with the officials of the SCA, companies investing at Thar coalfield and other stakeholders to discuss factors hampering the project.