A meeting to review the progress of Thar Coal Block-II Project of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company was held at Chief Minister House, Karachi on Tuesday under the Chairmanship of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah.
The meeting was also attended by Jam Saifullah Dharejo, Provincial Minister for Irrigation, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Provincial Minister for Finance,Jam Mahtab Dahar, Provincial Minister for Revenue, Sharjeel Enam Memon, Provincial Minister for Information, Minister for Agriculture Syed Ali Nawaz Shah, M. Zubair Motiwala, Chairman Sindh Board of Investment, Raja Muhammad Abbas, Chief Secretary Sindh, Aijaz Ali Khan, Secretary Coal and Energy Development Department, GoS/Managing Director Thar Coal and Energy Board, Alliuddin Anasari, President Engro Corporation and Shamsuddin Ahmed Shaikh, CEO Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company.
The Chief Minister welcomed the participants of the meeting and said that the government is fully committed for development of Thar coal which has 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.
Aijaz Ali Khan, Secretary Coal and Energy Development Department, GoS/Managing Director Thar Coal and Energy Board briefed the forum that the GENCO, under a policy guideline of the government, is converting its 800MW oil based Jamshoro Thermal power station to coal and also setting up a new 600MW coal fired power plant at Jamshoro, unfortunately both these power plants are being designed on imported coal. Recent studies carried on Lignite Transportation confirmed that Thar lignite can be transported via trucks or rail to other parts of the country.
The meeting was informed that the mining project is ready for execution and if a coal off-take agreement is signed by Genco with SECMC. It was decided that the issue will be taken up with the federal government to establish at least the new 600MW power plant at Jamshoro based on Thar Coal and sign the off-take agreement so that the mining project may executed immediately.-PR