The meeting of Thar Coal and Energy Board was held at Chief Minister House here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah.
The meeting was also attended by Provincial Ministers Jam Saifullah Dharejo, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sharjeel Enam Memon, Chairman Sindh Board of Investment Zubair Motiwala, Member (Energy) Planning Commission Shahid Sattar, Federal Secretary Water and Power Zafar Mehmood and Mohammad Sohail Rajput, Secretary Coal and Energy Development Department, Sindh/Managing Director Thar Coal and Energy Board.
The CM while speaking on the occasion said the government was fully committed for development of Thar Coal which had the potential of turning the country's economy around. "Thar coal resources can be used for power generation, chemical production and other uses and has the potential of providing energy security to the country."
He stressed that the work on project be accelerated for the benefit of the people.
Mohammad Sohail Rajput, Secretary Coal and Energy Development Department, Sindh/Managing Director Thar Coal and Energy Board briefed that Sindh government was giving high priority to the infrastructure development required for coal mining and power generation projects at Thar. He said the government of Sindh had allocated Rs 8.5 billions in the current financial year for schemes of improvement of roads, water supply, and disposal of effluent/waste water from Thar Coalfield and construction Airport.
He also briefed the Board that Ministry of Water and Power was pursuing the policy of conversion of oil-based power plants, under IPPs and Gencos, on imported coal. These retrofitted plants will be gradually shifted from imported coal to Thar Coal in future, when coal from Thar would be available. This will provide much needed Energy Security to the country and subsequent saving of foreign exchange by reducing the import bill. In this regard it is essential to ensure that the project sponsors for converting oil based power plants should design their boilers in such a manner that those should be compatible with the specifications of Thar Coal.
ZubairMotiwala, Chairman Sindh Board of Investment appreciated the present policy of the government to shift from oil-based power plant to coal-based plants and said it would drastically reduce the problem of circular debt. Shamsuddin Shaikh, CEO Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company also supported this plan and said existing power plants with the capacity of 5,500 MW could be converted on coal. He also explained the efforts of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company in getting lending from Chinese Financial Institutions for his project of coal mining and power generation at Block-II.-PR