This is the story of hungry people living in the valley of gold and diamonds. They are hungry because they have no determination and skills to utilise the grand gifts nature has ordained to them. This is Pakistan, overflowing with abundant natural resources and huge manpower but an acute lack of strategic planning has pushed her to the brink of a collapse.
There are numerous episodes of our loss of direction; Thar Coal deposits are just one example of reducing assets into rubbles. Experts say that the coal deposits in Thar discovered in early 1990s could change the fate of the country if utilised in a proper way. This is a precious treasure that can massively save on the oil import bill, reduce the unemployment ratio and help strengthen the economy and currency.
The Thar coal reservoirs have the potential to generate 5,000MW electricity for at least 800 years to meet the growing energy demands of the country. It is regrettable that the government committee, formed to prioritise projects’ allocation for the current fiscal year, has ignored the Thar gasification project. The project sources disclosed that they needed $70-75 million alone for the import of the proposed power plant. Tendering, negotiation, order placement, shipment, delivery and installation process requires two years. Though Pakistan is currently facing an unprecedented energy crisis, the government has decided not to go for a cheaper and long-term initiative to produce electricity by denying funds to the Thar Coal Underground Gasification (TCUG) project that is scheduled to kick start electricity production of 100 MW by the end of 2013. Sources in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources confirmed that the government has allocated a mere Rs2.5 million for the project that serves just the tip of an iceberg. In the new Public Sector Development Programme, a paltry amount of Rs25 million earmarked for a project of crucial importance for the country is hardly anything compared to the estimated total cost of Rs126.649 million. One of the world’s largest coal reserves, estimated at more than 185 billion tonnes, were found in early 1990s in Tharparkar district of Sindh, but successive governments failed to exploit this huge energy resource.
Pakistan Government has proved itself as being ‘Penny wise but pound foolish’. It is unwilling to allocate $1.25 billion desperately required for the Thar project in next five years but it is ready to bear the energy shortage losses of $50 billion for the same period. The country has already lost $37 billions in terms of energy shortage losses from 2007 till today. Thar Coal is one of the 5th largest coal reserves in the world, having a total reserve of 850 trillion cubic feet and spreading over 9,000 square kilometers desert area which can possibly enable us to produce enough electricity to power the entire country of Pakistan for the next 40-50 years, if not more. The reserves are massive enough to dwarf oil reserves of 375 billion barrels housed within Saudi Arab and Iran put together. It is estimated that the project could rank right at the top among all investments made in Pakistan—domestic or foreign. It is likely to produce over 200,000 jobs resulting from the project over the years. This opportunity can be turned into a life-line for people in Thar, living in sub-human conditions and remaining deprived of even access to safe drinking water, sewerage, healthcare, transport and education systems. Other issues include bonded labour and violation of the fundamental rights to employment and access to food availability will also be automatically addressed if the pace of development is expedited in the region. Pakistan’s veteran nuclear scientist and Member Science and Technology in Planning Commission of Pakistan Dr Samar Mubarak Mund is on record having said that the deposit has the potential to transform Pakistan into a self-sufficient and energy-surplus country in a short span of eight to 10 years. “It can produce 50,000MW of electricity for decades and 100 million barrels of oil for 500 years”, he said. Dr Samar Mubarak Mund is working on a pioneering project in Tharparkar, Sindh to produce 100 MW of electricity from the coal. Under the project, coal would not be mined but rather plants would be installed on deposits to produce gas in a most sophisticated manner. The gas acquired through the process will be used for electricity generation. Gas is the second cheapest way of producing power at the rate of Rs4.50 per unit. According to estimates recently compiled by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), the average cost of generating electricity from water resources stood at about 50 paisa per unit, Rs4.50 from gas, Rs12 per unit from furnace oil and more than Rs16 per unit from diesel. It is significant to note here that 40 per cent electricity in the world is generated through coal whereas the amount of coal-generated electricity in Pakistan is less than one per cent.
In this perspective, Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) President Dr Murtaza Mughal said in his recent statement that power generation and distribution network should be handed over to the private sector. “Government has failed to address acute energy problems, which has made the lives of common people and the business community miserable and halted growth”, he said. There is no dearth of capable, honest and dedicated individuals in Pakistan’s private sector who will try their best to serve nation, he said. It is sad to note that rulers prefer to bury their heads in sand by ordering ad hoc measures; bureaucracy seems to be more interested in barring investment in energy sector while concerned ministries are too much focused on rental power which has proved useless except for being a valuable source of commission earnings for the ruling elite. Power ministers of the current regime have been promising since years to overcome the load shedding menace but these claims were never taken seriously owing to the government’s lack of commitment. In this connection, top government officials frequently announce that few hundred megawatts have been inducted to the system but never disclose the source, which reveals the hollowness of their claims. International donors as well as investors are not ready to invest in Pakistan’s energy sector while concerned departments are not ready to facilitate Chinese investment which is unfortunate. Paper-plans to build mega hydro power projects have hit snags; import of gas and electricity from Iran, Middle East and central Asia could not materialise while Thar Coal reserves are awaiting exploitation. Landmark successes of the government on the energy front are only visible in official records and newspapers, while there is nothing seen on the ground.
Thar Coal – a forgotten treasure
