State-owned Chinese Corporation, the Shinhua Group has agreed to start work on Thar Coal power project from early next year.
A 13-member delegation of the Shinhua Group would arrive in Islamabad on Friday to discuss various issues relating to the pre-feasibility study of the coal reserves.
The study, being conducted by the group, is currently in advanced stages of completion, said a senior official of the group.
The official told APP here the Group has already decided to extend financial and technical assistance for setting up two 300 megawatt-power plants.
The delegation will be headed by Ping Heng, Director Guohu Energy Company, a subsidiary of the Shinhua Group.
It would meet officials of the Sindh Coal Authority, the ministry of petroleum and natural resources, Private Power and Infrastructure Board and Wapda.
To a question, the official said the delegation would stay in Pakistan, as long as required.
The pre-feasibility study is likely to take three to four months.
The delegation, he said would seek certain clarifications about the information and the data already provided by the Pakistani side. "We would like to know the details of the government policies for power generation project," the official added.
It would also inspect and survey the sites selected for the power plant three separate studies on different blocks of the Thar coal reserves are currently in progress.
The Shinhua group has already informed the government that Thar coal field possessed significant potential and related environment was very suitable for development but required a lot of preparatory work for optimum utilisation of coal.
It has already signed of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Pakistani authority to undertake the project on BOO basis. It will be responsible for investment, construction and operation, while the Pakistani-side will provide project-site and necessary infrastructure.