Currently about 2,600 megawatts of electricity was going to the National Grid from Thar coal reserves
Karachi
Provincial Energy Minister Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh says Sindh had a complete, cheap and long-lasting solution to energy problems of the country.
Speaking at a consultative session held at a local hotel in Karachi regarding more effective utilization of Thar coal reserves, minister said that the provincial government would go all out in enhancing energy security for the country, and was currently working on multiple projects to support macroeconomic stability of the country.
He also encouraged all participants to come up with innovative and technology-driven solutions to maximize the value that could be generated from energy assets available in Sindh.
He said that Thar coal deposits and natural resources of the province were the best resource to meet the country’s energy needs and save a lot of foreign exchange spent on import of fuel to get out of the severe economic crisis. “The need is that we use these resources in a better way,” he added.
The minister said that currently about 2,600 megawatts of electricity was going to the National Grid from Thar coal reserves which were cheap source of energy.
He said that this consultation meeting had been held to see what more can be done from the Thar coal reserves. “The Sindh government wants to ensure more effective use of the Thar coal reserves in consultation with experts,” he added.
Imtiaz Sheikh said that he would inform the Sindh Cabinet about the recommendations of this consultation meeting. He said that the provincial government was also working on the project of connecting the Thar coal deposits with the main railway line with the cooperation of the Federal Ministry of Railways so that Thar coal could be delivered to other energy plants of the country, adding that it could be a substitute for imported fuel.
He thanked Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the members of the federal government for their cooperation and said that the prime minister had taken great interest and provided full cooperation. He said that the policies of the PTI government had greatly damaged the plans of the Sindh government.
He requested the Prime Minister to remove the obstacles in the way of Sindh’s energy projects. He said that the project biogas would also be implemented soon.
Dr. Qaiser Bengali, Sindh Energy Secretary Abubakar Madani, Managing Director Thar Coal Energy Board Khadim Hussain Chana, Thar Coal Tariff Committee members Ammar Habib Khan, Fahad Irfan Siddiqui and key representatives of the business community and other stakeholders also presented their views and suggestions in the session.
Earlier, talking to the media, the provincial energy minister said that Sindh had Pakistan’s energy solution as there were enough resources in the province.
He said besides huge coal reserves, a powerful wind corridor was in the province where electricity was being generated. The energy minister said that the provincial government was also considering launching a project for gasification of coal at Thar. Similarly, he said that the provincial government would also launch a biogas project soon.
He said that the provincial government was setting up solar parks in Malir and Keamari for power generation. To a question he said that the people of Islamkot, Thar had been given free electricity. “We want to give people of the entire Tharparkar district free electricity and the work on it is in progress,” he added. (PR)
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