Drawn by a superior quality of lignite at Thar Coal, the Turkish investors want the Government of Pakistan to announce upfront (feed in) tariff for the coal-based power and an assured off-take of the electricity the foreign investors would be generating at the energy-rich blocks.
The demand came from Chief Executive Officer of LIMAK Group Birol Erquven during a meeting with Chairman Sindh Board of Investment (SBI) Muhammad Zubair Motiwala who led a high-level delegation to Turkey last week. An official statement of Sindh government Saturday quoted Erquven as saying that the quality of Lignite at Thar was far better than the lignite in many parts of the world.
“Coal in Turkey has the heating value of only 1200-1500 K-Cal whereas Thar coal is far superior with more than 3000 K-Cal heating value,” he observed.
The LIMAK executive said Turkish investors were intended to invest in the mega projects of Pakistan, especially in the energy sector, but it was important that Pakistan should now focus more on streamlining the existing investment policies to make these more investor-friendly for foreign companies.
Instilling on the investment in the Thar Coal, he requested that Sindh government, after consultation with federal government, should consider announcing up-front (Feed in) tariff for coal based power and assured off-take of power. This, he said, would increase the interest and confidence of foreign investors in Pakistan.
SBP chief Motiwala told the Turkish side that the existing huge energy supply gap in Pakistan and the incentives announced by Islamabad for foreign energy investors, especially in Thar coal mining and power generation, offered ample opportunities for Turkish investors to exploit. About the guaranteed off-take of power by the government, Motiwala said Pakistan was an energy-starved country and despite having huge resources like Thar coal and wind corridor of Thatta, the country had not been able to meet its bare minimum energy requirements.
During the meeting, Secretary Coal and Energy Ajaz Ali Khan briefed the Turkish side on technical specifications of the lignite coal at Thar that, he said, was far better than coal Turkey and some other countries had been using for power generation for last many decades.
Khan also underlined possible modes of investment by the Turkish investors saying they could either join the existing ongoing three projects as JV partners or could invest in the independent Thar Coal Block through the process of international bidding. Motiwala invited Erquven to visit Pakistan where, he said, more details on the investment in Thar coal along with the site visit would be facilitated by the SBI and Thar Coal and Energy Board.
