CM Murad calls for a railway line for coal transportation

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah urged the federal government on Monday to construct a 105-kilometre railway line from Thar Coalfield, Islamkot to Umerkot’s Chor town for the transportation of coal to the upcountry.

During a meeting with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Affairs Khalid Mansoor, the CM said that Thar coal was a natural treasure and should be used for all coal-fired power plants and other projects in the country. The meeting was attended by Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh, Special Assistant to CM on Investment Qasim Naveed, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Sajid Jamal Abro, Sindh Investment Secretary Zahid Abbasi and Sindh Energy Secretary Tariq Shah.

According to the CM, a feasibility study for the construction of a 105km-long railway line from Islamkot to Chor was conducted and the study concluded that building the track would cost $160 million and the cost of rolling stock would be $127m.

Shah recommended that the railway line be constructed under the federal planning and development ministry such that power tariffs are not affected. He pointed out that the Pakistan Railways’ authorities have prepared a Rs130 billion PC-1 for the project but it is pending the federal government’s approval. He urged the SPAM on CPEC to get it approved and have the project launched.

Moreover, said Shah, the existing railways network from Chor to Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad and Port Qasim should be rehabilitated to facilitate coal transportation.

According to the CM, M/s Oracle Powers was working on an integrated project comprising a coal mine, power plant and coal to gas and liquid facility. He urged the Centre to frame a policy for coal to liquid (CTL), coal to gas (CTG), coal to urea (CTU) so that M/s Oracle Power’s project could take off.

Read More: ‘Quality of Badin’s coal same as that of Thar’s’

Narcotics crackdown

Separately, at a meeting with Anti-Narcotics Force Sindh Director-General Major General Ghulam Shabbir Narejo, the CM said that he has issued directives to the provincial police to launch a targeted operation against the drug mafia.

He said that the drug peddlers and pushers and their suppliers were not only destroying the future of new generations but also creating a law and order situation in the province, especially in the metropolis. He urged Major General Narejo to support Sindh Police and help with the rehabilitation of durg addicts.

According to the CM’s office, the DG assured Shah of ANF’s cooperation with the provincial police to eliminate drug mafias and disband their networks.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2021.