Reserves from one block enough to generate 5,000MW for 50 years

Feasibility study of Thar coal reserves confirms two billion tons of coal reserves are available in Block II alone.

KARACHI: A feasibility study of Thar coal reserves has been completed, confirming that two billion tons of coal reserves are available in Block II alone – a quantity enough to generate 5,000 megawatts of electricity over the next 50 years.

This was disclosed by Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah during a press briefing at the CM House on Tuesday.

“The Economic Coordination Committee has granted an incentive package to attract foreign investors to Thar, ” said the chief minister. “The declaration of the region as a special economic zone and area of strategic importance has also been approved.”

Giving details about the incentives, he explained that the government would guarantee an internal rate of return of 20 per cent to firms which will achieve financial close by 2015 and investors will be exempt from paying customs duties on the import of coal mining and construction machinery for a period of 30 years.

“Under the federal government’s incentive package, Thar coalfields would be declared a project of national security.”

As part of the package, the government would not charge levies, including federal excise duty and withholding tax, for the first 30 years in a bid to attract investors.

Shah said that the government would have to provide infrastructure at the field and assured that the federal and provincial governments, both, would provide funds for the provision of water. He added that efforts were underway to connect the fields with the network of roads.

“The generation of power using indigenous reserves will conserve precious foreign exchange spent on the import of oil while creating numerous employment opportunities,” said Asad Umar, president of Engro Corporation at the ceremony held to mark the completion of the feasibility study.

He estimated that the development of Block II alone is expected to bring an investment of billions into the country.

Sindh’s finance minister Murad Ali Shah, minister for revenue Jam Mehtab Dahar and adviser to CM on planning Kaiser Bengali were also present on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2010.