The objective of exploration of coal mining is to enhance energy sources for Pakistan, said Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Qaim Ali Shah on Monday while addressing a ceremony at the CM House where a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the provincial government and China’s Global Mining Company (GMC).
Shah said the project, which includes coal mining of 5 million tonnes per year and power generation of 900MW in Block I of Thar coalfields, is expected to be completed within the stipulated time. He appreciated the planned investment in the mega-project and assured that the government would provide all possible help to the Chinese company for the coal mining and power generation project.
He said Sindh has huge reserves of coal, out of which 175 billion tonnes are located in the Thar coalfields.
The federal and provincial governments have assigned top priority to develop coal mining, coal-based power generation and other uses of coal by offering most attractive fiscal incentives, protections and guarantees to the investors in the coal sector, he added.
Liyang Liu – the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sino-Sindh Resources (SSR), a local subsidiary of the GMC – thanked the Sindh government for allocating Block I of Thar coalfields; and assured that the GMC would complete the feasibility study within six months and the groundbreaking ceremony of mine construction would be held in the first week April 2012, whereas production of coal would start within three years and power generation of 900MW is expected by 2014.
The GMC proposed to invest approximately $4.5 billion until 2016 and another $4 billion would be invested to research the target of producing 10,000MW.
The company also intends to invest in construction of key infrastructures such as transmission lines, water conduits and effluent treatment systems with an estimated cost of $1.5 billion. Sindh Board of Investment Chairman Zubair Motiwala briefed the participants of the meeting that the provincial government had initiated the process of international competitive bidding for allocation of various blocks of Thar coalfields in December 2010, and had allocated Block I of Thar coalfields having an area of 122 sq km.
Coal and Energy Development Department Secretary Muhammad Younas Dagha and SSR CEO Liu signed the MoU on behalf of the Sindh government and the GMC, respectively.