Thar coal: Four companies acquire power generation licence
Groups plan to produce at least 3,000MW.
KARACHI:
Four companies have been selected for a project to produce electricity from the Thar coal reserves. If the overall investment of $12 billion goes through, the project will help produce 4000MW of electricity, according to sources.
King Hu, Global Mining groups of China, Australasia Mining and Pakistan Petroleum were the companies selected after international competitive bidding process. Chairman Sindh Board of Investment Younus Dhaga told The Express Tribune that President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah are taking keen interest in the promotion of alternative energy projects and investment in the province. He said that the board was working at a fast pace on the instructions of the leadership.
He said that the four groups have a stable reputation and they plan to produce 3,000 to 5,000MW.
Thar has one of the largest coal reserves in the world, with estimates putting the amount at 200 billion tons.
According to an estimate, the country is bearing a loss equal to two per cent of the GDP because of the power crisis and outages in the country.
Industries are facing a loss of Rs200 billion, millions of people are now unemployed, and the country lost $1 billion in exports due to the power crisis.
The country can handle the challenges facing the economy of the country by producing electricity through the Thar project and the construction of infrastructure on emergency basis is necessary, said Dhaga.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 21st, 2011.
Four companies have been selected for a project to produce electricity from the Thar coal reserves. If the overall investment of $12 billion goes through, the project will help produce 4000MW of electricity, according to sources.
King Hu, Global Mining groups of China, Australasia Mining and Pakistan Petroleum were the companies selected after international competitive bidding process. Chairman Sindh Board of Investment Younus Dhaga told The Express Tribune that President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah are taking keen interest in the promotion of alternative energy projects and investment in the province. He said that the board was working at a fast pace on the instructions of the leadership.
He said that the four groups have a stable reputation and they plan to produce 3,000 to 5,000MW.
Thar has one of the largest coal reserves in the world, with estimates putting the amount at 200 billion tons.
According to an estimate, the country is bearing a loss equal to two per cent of the GDP because of the power crisis and outages in the country.
Industries are facing a loss of Rs200 billion, millions of people are now unemployed, and the country lost $1 billion in exports due to the power crisis.
The country can handle the challenges facing the economy of the country by producing electricity through the Thar project and the construction of infrastructure on emergency basis is necessary, said Dhaga.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 21st, 2011.