PM orders all help to develop Thar Coal projects

KARACHI: Thar’s coal deposits are of national importance and are a primary source for power generation in the country, said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at a meeting with members of the Sindh cabinet at Chief Minister House on Monday.

Gilani directed the federal and provincial agencies to offer “all required support” for the Thar coal projects and ensure the timely availability of infrastructure. He also directed the Sindh government to plan the allocation of funds under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) with the federal minister of finance.

The Thar Coal and Energy Board (TCEB) plans to generate at least 1,000 megawatts from Thar coal by the year 2020, coal and energy development secretary Ajaz Khan informed the prime minister. The project will save $79 billion (net present value) on fuel replacement costs and will benefit the national economy by Rs8 trillion on account of reduced power generation costs, Khan added.

Sources said that during the briefing, advisor to the CM on development, Kaisar Bengali, said that due to financial constraints the government will face problems developing the Thar coal site. He said that funds are not released by the federal government on time. Sources said that the prime minister assured him that the funds would be released without any delay.

According to a handout issued by Chief Minister House, the CM said that work on roads and an airstrip is in full swing and by 2020 the government would start generating power from the coal.

A pre-feasibiity study on Sindh-Engro JV, a flagship project of the Sindh government, will be completed in August 2010, PPI report..

The PM also directed the Sindh government to improve law and order in collaboration with other coalition partners as it was a provincial subject. He directed the provincial government to take strict action against the land mafia. Interior Minister Rehman Malik gave the PM a briefing on the overall law and order situation.

Provincial minister for culture affairs Sassui Palijo said that she was not allowed to speak about the Chashma Jhelum Link Canal issue during the Sindh Cabinet meeting, Online reports. She has been vocal about the water shortage in Sindh as her district, Thatta, has been one of the worst affected.

War games

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani stressed the significance of war games in the military planning process Monday and said that in the fast changing world of today, regular war games were needed to evolve new concepts and doctrines.

He was addressing the opening session of the Pakistan Navy war game Shamsheer-e-Bahr IV as the chief guest. He lauded the realistic stock taking, exhaustive analysis and objective decision making of the Force Commanders who presented their detailed plans.

The PM was received by the Chief of Naval Staff along with key naval commanders. Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Operations Vice Admiral Abbas Raza outlined the objectives and concepts to be tried. He underlined the significance of the naval base at Gwadar.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2010.