The Sino-Sindh Resources (Pvt) Limited (SSRL) has executed a ‘subscription and cooperation agreement’ with a consortium of investors consisting of Global Mining (China) Limited (GMC) and Asiapak Investments Limited. This was announced in a statement issued here on Tuesday by the Chief Executive Officer of SSRL, Abdul Qayyum Chaudhry.
The statement said that SSRL holds a 30-year mining lease for Block 1 of Thar Coalfields which covers approximately 150 square km in south eastern Pakistan. SSRL was awarded the block after an intensive round of International Competitive Bidding in September, 2011. Block 1 holds lignite coal resources of approximately 3.5 billion tons including 600 million tons of measured, 1.9 billion tons of indicated and 1.0 billion tons of inferred resources. These resources are eminently suitable for power generation and have been proven by several reputable international companies including RWE of Germany and China Coal Technology and Engineering Group (CCTEG) of China.
The statement further pointed out that SSRL has plans to develop 10 million tons per annum coal mine and integrated 1,200MW mine-mouth power plant supplying electricity to the national electricity grid network of Pakistan.
The total project cost is estimated at $2.6 billion for which a bankable feasibility has been completed through CCTEG.
The statement said that under the terms of the agreement, GMC will provide the equity funding for the project and will also arrange the required debt facilities from a consortium of Chinese banks. GMC will also assist SSRL in its on-going process of negotiating an EPC contract with a leading state owned EPC contractor in China. GMC will also take a majority representation in the Board of Directors of SSRL and will appoint its chief executive officer.
Integrated coal mining and mine-mouth power project in Thar coalfields
