President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), Mian Zahid Hussain has said that government and private sector should also pay special attention to the development of the social sector otherwise all efforts aimed at economic development would remain counterproductive. He said that energy in Thar has been estimated to be 68 times more than the combined gas reserves in the country.
Thar holds 175 billion tonnes of coal which can cater for the Pakistan's energy requirements for centuries and also help earn hefty foreign exchange through energy exports, he said. Mian Zahid Hussain said that Thar is homes of 25 million people; it is rich in resources but on the other hand, it is one of the most underdeveloped areas in the country where many suffers from malnutrition and other problems. Thar has more energy than the combined energy of Saudi Arabia and Iran and 68 times more than that of total gas reserves which can change the fate of the country, he noted.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Government of Sindh and a private company has started extracting coal from block II in Thar while four power generation projects are being completed ahead of time which is laudable. The date of commercial operations of these projects was fixed at June 2019 but now it will start producing electricity in 2018, he informed.