Tag: Thar

KARACHI - Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah on Saturday presided the 11th meeting of Thar Coal and Energy Board held at Chief Minister House. The chief minister, who is also chairman of the board, said that the coal and energy projects are essential for the development and progress of not only for Thar area but will bring prosperity throughout Pakistan.
He added that the work of eight different blocks allotted to different firms and companies is in progress, and the work of

KARACHI - The residents of Achhro Thar (White Desert) are demanding the government to provide them with river water. Achhro Thar is believed to be the most backward area of Pakistan, and is often affected by droughts due to which the underground water level has dropped drastically.
During former president Pervez Musharraf's government, Thar Desert was provided with adequate river water with the help of pipes and vast networks of roads. However, no government since then has

KARACHI - The results of Long Water Pump Test at Block-2 of Thar Coal Fields have revealed that the amount of ground water will not be sufficient to serve as a single source for long term use as the bottom aquifer is of limited extent.
On advice of international water consultants a month-long water pump test was conducted at Block-2 in the Thar Coal Fields to determine the quantity of ground water, quality of ground water and its supply variability with time, well efficiency, and

KARACHI - The technical proposal of the National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) has been rejected as the firm has refused to carry out drilling work in the Thar coalfields under the water master plan, Coal and Energy Development Department Secretary Ejaz Ali Khan informed the Project Steering Committee on Thar Coal and Power Technical Assistance Project (TC&PTAP) in a recent meeting. The scheme titled 'Water Master Plan for Thar Coal Fields including Hydro geological, Water

KARACHI - The Sindh government informed the provincial assembly on Friday that five companies are working on different blocks of the Thar coalfield, whereas the Coal and Energy Development Department is making efforts to offer three more developed blocks for investment. Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, who personally looks after the coal energy sector in the province, stated this in his written replies to questions asked by different members of the assembly. Sindh Law Minister Ayaz

KARACHI - The Sindh government asked the World Bank (WB) on Wednesday to review its decision of not assisting in the development of the Thar coal energy project and provide support to make the scheme possible. Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah made this request during a meeting with a WB delegation at the Chief Minister's House.
The WB officials assured the chief minister that they would review the necessary modalities and further discuss the issue at another meeting to be held

KARACHI - With the sky still red and sun yet to rise above the horizon; birds singing and crows cawing; around a dozen boys and girls, carrying school bags on their shoulders, start their long walk on a narrow path passing through white sand dunes, surrounded by desert plants.
Wearing tattered slippers and clothes; weak physique and faces pale due to malnutrition; their eyes glitter with excitement on the journey of seven kilometres in the vast Achhro Thar (White Desert). For

KARACHI - The recent epidemic of viral disease among the livestock of the Thar Desert region, which killed more than 50 camels in Umerkot and Tharparkar districts and hundreds affected, has now moved to the livestock of the Achhro Thar or White Desert region in Sanghar district. The sheep, goats, cows and camels in different villages of Achhro Thar have started dying after hitting with epidemic of viral diseases.
During the visit of different remote villages of Achhro Thar, the

KARACHI - The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is arbitrarily delaying starting construction of an airstrip in Islamkot, Tharparkar district, aimed at facilitating foreign investors to reach Thar coalfields by air. Despite the fact that the Sindh government had released Rs 315 million to the CAA last year, the authority has not spent even a single paisa for the airstrip's construction.
The provincial government had approved the location of the airstrip with a total cost of Rs

ISLAMABAD - The Kingho Group, the largest private group of China, has expressed keen interest to invest in the Thar Coal project. A seven member delegation of China Kingho Group, headed by Executive Vice President Ma Xiaomin, visited Board of Investment to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan in the coal sector, particularly the development of coalfields in Thar and Badin, says a statement issued here.
Minister of State and BOI Chairman Saleem H Mandviwalla stressed that

FAISALABAD - Pakistan's nuclear scientist Dr Samar Mubarakmund has said that Pakistan's Thar coal deposits are a blessing and Pakistan can obtain the cheapest electricity generation through coal gas to overcome its energy crisis.
He was speaking at a seminar titled "Energy Crisis in Pakistan" held at Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) at East Canal Road. He said the underground coal deposits spreading over 9,600 square kilometers in Sindh were 100 times more in

KARACHI - Thar Coal and Energy Board (TCEB) Chairman Syed Qaim Ali Shah has requested the Federal Minister For Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf to take up Thar coal power projects during the next round of Pak-US Energy Dialogue.
The funding being sought from the Kerry-Lugar package is for at least one indigenous coal mining and power project at Thar with a capacity to generate between 4,000 and 5,000 megawatts of electricity.
According to the minutes of the tenth board

KARACHI - The Thar Coal Energy Board (TCEB) has directed that the companies involved in drilling at Thar coal sites should be instructed to take utmost care in order to prevent water from entering the coal seam zone.
These directives were given in the light of the first test burn of the underground coal gasification (UCG) project at Thar in March this year that will initially produce three to five megawatts electricity.
According to the minutes of TCEB's 10th meeting, UCG

KARACHI - Foreign funding is sought for the establishment of a transmission line to the Thar coalfields for the distribution of between 2,500 and 3,000 megawatts electricity from the coal projects to the national grid.
Ministry of Water and Power will hold a meeting shortly with all concerned stakeholders to resolve the issue related to the approval of the project from Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in order to ensure that work on the transmission

KARACHI - The Thar Coal Energy Board (TCEB) has approved the Resource Pricing mechanism as the standard coal pricing system in the case of the Thar project in its tenth board meeting held in November last year. However, the board advised the consultant, Ernst and Young, to prepare a long term scenario in which 10-15,000 megawatts of power is generated from Thar Coal instead of merely 12,000 MW so as to develop a sustainable long-term coal project exploiting the economies of scale with

KARACHI: The country's vast coal reserves in Thar, if harnessed properly, can provide reliable, affordable and large scale power generation that will reduce the burden of the energy import bill on the country's meager resources. This was indicated in a position paper, recently prepared by the Thar Coal and Energy Board (TCEB) and the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company.
80 percent of the national energy requirement could be met through power generated through the Thar coal deposits

HOUSTON: Pakistan offers tremendous opportunities for American investors in energy sector and foreign companies can greatly benefit from business-friendly environment, geared towards meeting the country's fast-growing energy requirements, Islamabad's envoy to the United States Husain Haqqani stated.
Ambassador Husain Haqqani told participants of a conference, focusing on the extraction of Thar coal and Pakistan's energy potential, that there are lucrative business prospects in