Thar Coal Mines project to be a game-changer for Pakistan: PM

Staff Reporter
THARPARKAR: Expressing happiness that the Thar desert was developing fast, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said that the Thar Coal was the project of Pakistan’s development and prosperity.
He said that amid the skyrocketing fuel prices, the cheaper energy production from the Thar Coal Mines project would prove as a game-changer for development of the entire country.
The Prime Minister stated this while addressing the inauguration of the commercial operations of Phase-II of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company during his visit to Thar Coal Mines Block-II in Tharparkar on Monday.
The prime minister on the occasion inaugurated a 330 MW Power Plant of Thar Energy Limited (TEL) and also inspected the construction site of SECMC Mine Phase-II at Islamkot.
PM Sharif said not benefitting from the country’s indigenous coal reserves was a huge mistake and announced to convene a meeting of stakeholders on Thar Coal mines next week to discuss formalities.
He said the federal government in collaboration with the Sindh government would chalk out a policy framework on the Thar Coal mines project, with an objective to connect it with other rest of coal-powered power plants in the country producing 4,000 megawatts.
He mentioned the international cost of coal had come down from $67 to $44 and had prospects of further reduction up to $ 30.
The coal-powered plants, he said, would prove a feasible operation for electricity production at the rate of Rs 10 per unit.
The prime minister said Thar Coal project would save the country’s foreign exchange and help thrive the national economy.
On March 2023, he said, the Thar Coal Mines project would be connected through a freight rail track for the transportation of coal to other parts of the country. He lauded the Sindh government, Hubco, the government of China, and the Chinese companies for training the local professionals and workers, and also appreciated the women working in the field including at water plants and dumping trucks.
He expressed satisfaction that Thar was undergoing fast development after former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto first visited the area in 1996 and envisioned a prosperity plan for the locals.
Speaking on the occasion, Foreign Minister and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the country’s destiny could be changed courtesy this project.
He said that it was the Sindh government’s desire that work on the project should be completed at proverbial ‘Punjab Speed’. He said had the Sindh government not taken the project seriously, there could have been no progress on it.