ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed completion of the project to connect Thar coal mines to the Railway line by March 23, 2023, for transportation of local coal to the power plants.

The prime minister directed to complete the project by March 2023, while chairing a meeting on connecting Thar coal mines with Railway line that was informed that by connecting the Thar coal mines to the railway lines, local coal will be supplied to Jamshoro, Port Qasim, and other power plants of the country as well as to the local industry.

The meeting was informed that this would help save the foreign exchange used for importing coal. The meeting was also informed that a decision has been taken in principle by the federal government and the government of Sindh to jointly undertake the project to connect the Thar coal mines to railway line.

The prime minister and the chief minister Sindh have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard on Wednesday evening, said the Prime Minister’s Office.

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The prime minister said that the previous government has not undertaken any new projects, instead, those initiated in the past were also stopped.

He said that by connecting the Thar Coal Mines to the Railway line, local coal will be used instead of imported coal. He said that the country can save $2 billion by using local coal for power generation.

The meeting was attended by federal ministers, Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, and Khurram Dastgir; special assistants, Jehanzeb Khan, and Zafaruddin Mehmood, and the relevant senior officials.

Federal Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah participated in the meeting through video link.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022