A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between TBEA Co Ltd and Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company Ltd (SECMC) to jointly play a lead role in developing the Thar Coal Mining and Power projects. Under the MoU, the parties have reached an intention of jointly developing, coal mining and power projects at Thar in Sindh, Pakistan. TBEA intends to invest equity into SECMC and would facilitate SECMC in raising finance from China.
SECMC's mining and power project (under its subsidiary Thar Power Company) are expected to kick-off early next year and will be completed within four years. TBEA wants to enter Pakistani energy sector with the long-term vision to develop Thar Coalfields as it agrees that Thar coal is a technically and economically viable indigenous resource for power generation, and will provide a sustainable solution to future energy needs of Pakistan.
TBEA is the core of China's power equipment manufacturing industry and TBEA as the turnkey power projects contractor and power equipment manufacturer, has international co-operation in more than 50 countries. It is one of the largest global power transformer suppliers with annual production capacity exceeding 250 million kVA. SECMC, a joint venture between Government of Sindh and Engro is the developer of Thar Coal Mining Block-II.
It may be noted that Thar coalfields contain the world's seventh largest coal reserves-estimated at 175 billion tons, capable to produce 100,000 MW for the next 200 years. Furthermore, being indigenous, Thar coal price is not linked to international energy price movements thereby insulating the end consumer of electricity from the vagaries of international coal price movements and simultaneously resulting in huge foreign exchange savings. Thar coal also has the advantage of economies of scale, which will result in a progressively lower coal price and predictable electricity price as the mining operation scales up and more power plants are added. At the optimum mine size, Thar Coal will yield a power tariff of less than USc 6/kWh which will completely change Pakistan's Energy Scenario.