The government has reportedly agreed to set up two blended coal thermal power projects in Sindh after the Council of Common Interests (CCI) cleared the proposal of Ministry of Water and Power in its previous meeting, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.
In October last year, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf while chairing a special meeting on Thar Coal and Energy Board in Islamabad had decided to use only Thar coal for power generation which had created problems for the Ministry of Water and Power and Economic Affairs Division (EAD) which were working hard to seek foreign investment for imported coal projects.
The Prime Minister in his remarks had stated that "history will not excuse us if we do not take correct and timely decision(s). We have little space for providing sovereign guarantees, keeping in view our fragile fiscal condition." Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) and Engro Corporation are working on an integrated coal mining and power project at an estimated cost of $1.3 billion at Block 2 of Thar coal project for mining of 6.5 million tons per annum and a 1,200-megawatt power plant.
The Sindh government had requested the federal government for conversion of existing 800MW and new 600MW power plants at Jamshoro on Thar Coal specifications. According to sources, Asian Development Bank (ADB) which had shown keen interest in imported coal projects, refused to invest in Thar coal declaring it substandard coal.
However, Ministry of Water and Power wrote to the Prime Minister to review his decision saying this will block new investment in Pakistan. The source said a delegation of ADB headed by Director General Central West, Klaus Gerhaeusser is visiting Islamabad on Thursday to discuss current portfolio and future projects including imported coal projects and Diamer Bhasha Dam.
Comments
Comments are closed.