Sindh: Foreign firms to be given Thar Coal project block for 1,000MW project

[Naveed Yaseen]

The third meeting of the Thar Coal and Energy Board, presided by Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah at the CM House on Tuesday, decided to give Block-8 to Bin Daen Group of Dubai and Pan Energy Developing Company (PEDCO) of Korea to exploit Thar coal deposits and establish a 1,000-megawatt (MW) mine mouth thermal power plant in Tharparkar, Sindh.

It was decided that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed very soon in Karachi. The board was informed that this power plant will be the first and largest single thermal power plant in Pakistan, providing electricity to more than two million households and 600,000 factories as well as creating about 90,000 jobs for both skilled and unskilled labours during the entire project.

The board decided that the proposed addition of members, if any, would be approved at the next meeting of the board. It was also decided to appoint legal consultants for the project.

The chief minister said that the present government intended to utilize coal reserves of the province and various internationally renowned groups were approaching for coal mining and power generation projects.

He said that different groups had approached for many projects, including Thar coal mining, during a recent visit to China by a high-level delegation led by President Asif Ali Zardari, adding, some MoUs were also signed for the purpose. He said that with the commencement of power plants, the requirements of industrial, commercial and domestic consumers would be met. The CM said that accelerated efforts were being made to properly utilize the reserves for the benefit of the people and the country.

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