Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF), while welcoming the World Bank offer to develop Thar Coal reserves, hoped the government will accept this offer as the exploration of coal will help generate cheaper electricity to bridge demand and supply gap of 5000MW.
The PIAF Chairman Irfan Qaiser Sheikh and Vice Chairman Khawaja Shahzeb Akram in a joint statement said that despite the huge coal deposits, the electricity being produced through different means other than hydle and thermal, is very small.
If the World Bank, the existing huge coal reserves are tapped and used for power generation, the electricity situation in the country would substantially increased, they added. Moreover, they said that due to shortage of energy, the industrial activity had already slow down considerably and if alternate resources were not utilised, the industry would be forced to bear additional burden.
The Kalabagh Dam could not be built for want of consensus in all the four provinces thus the government should immediately accept the World Bank offer so that the manufacturing sector could be able to have its due place in the global market. Because of the shortage of energy, the textile sector was the biggest loser and the country's total exports registered a sharp decline.