Thar project progressing ahead of schedule
SECMC chief says electricity supply to national grid will begin by 2019
SECMC chief says electricity supply to national grid will begin by 2019. PHOTO: EXPRESS
KARACHI:
The Thar coal project is progressing five months ahead of schedule and would add 660 megawatts (MW) electricity to the national grid by 2019, said Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) CEO Shamsuddin Ahmed Shaikh in an interview with APP here.
“We are five months ahead of schedule. Of total 112 million cubic meters excavation, we have achieved 7 million cubic metres,” he added.
The first phase of the project based on two plants of 330 MW each will cost $1.1 billion of which 75% is foreign and 25% is local financing.
Thar Coal project faces prospect of delay
This has been achieved with the support and facilitation by both federal and provincial governments to make this mega project a success story, he said. The two power plants and mining in block two of Thar coal would cost $3.2 billion. Fifty Pakistani and three Chinese banks are financing this project. Engro Corporation and the Sindh government are the main sponsors, he said.
The SECMC CEO said the federal and Sindh governments were keen to see this mega project operational at the earliest. “There is huge pressure on us from both governments. We are going as fast as we can,” he remarked.
The Sindh government has constructed high standard roads network in Thar district linking coal deposit areas to highways and cities. The federal government was setting up an international airport there. A big dam and an effluent treatment plant were being constructed near the coal mines, he said.
Thar coal project: Dam will destroy our livelihoods, claim locals
The federal government was also working on a transmission line to link power generation plants from Thar coal with the national grid, he said. Third generation technology was being used in mining and power generation.
The SECMC CEO said among a total of 2,028 workers, 997 were natives of Thar including semi-skilled manpower, 647 were Chinese and 384 belonged to different parts of the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2016.
The Thar coal project is progressing five months ahead of schedule and would add 660 megawatts (MW) electricity to the national grid by 2019, said Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) CEO Shamsuddin Ahmed Shaikh in an interview with APP here.
“We are five months ahead of schedule. Of total 112 million cubic meters excavation, we have achieved 7 million cubic metres,” he added.
The first phase of the project based on two plants of 330 MW each will cost $1.1 billion of which 75% is foreign and 25% is local financing.
Thar Coal project faces prospect of delay
This has been achieved with the support and facilitation by both federal and provincial governments to make this mega project a success story, he said. The two power plants and mining in block two of Thar coal would cost $3.2 billion. Fifty Pakistani and three Chinese banks are financing this project. Engro Corporation and the Sindh government are the main sponsors, he said.
The SECMC CEO said the federal and Sindh governments were keen to see this mega project operational at the earliest. “There is huge pressure on us from both governments. We are going as fast as we can,” he remarked.
The Sindh government has constructed high standard roads network in Thar district linking coal deposit areas to highways and cities. The federal government was setting up an international airport there. A big dam and an effluent treatment plant were being constructed near the coal mines, he said.
Thar coal project: Dam will destroy our livelihoods, claim locals
The federal government was also working on a transmission line to link power generation plants from Thar coal with the national grid, he said. Third generation technology was being used in mining and power generation.
The SECMC CEO said among a total of 2,028 workers, 997 were natives of Thar including semi-skilled manpower, 647 were Chinese and 384 belonged to different parts of the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2016.