Pathan was talking to The Express Tribune during a visit to Sukkur on Tuesday evening.
Dr Samar Mubarak Mund is working on a bloc in the Thar reserves and is researching the possibility of producing electricity through gasification.
The project will start producing 50MW electricity early next year, he explained. Other coal-run projects, which are expected to produce 50,000MW of electricity, will hopefully be ready by 2020.
Pathan said that an international airport is under construction at Islamkot and will take around 18 months to complete.
They are also building an eight-lane road from Hyderabad to Mirpurkhas, which will connect Mithi, Umerkot and other areas.
A project for the supply of potable water in Thar is also under way. The pipeline project, worth Rs27 billion, will start from Chotiyaron Dam.
The project is being carried out with the help of China and will also take 18 months to finish.
“Australia and Britain are already working on the Thar coal reserves and now China will also start working there,” the DCO informed.
Commenting on the quality of the coal, Pathan said it meets international standards. It is known as Lignite coal.
The amount of coal in Thar’s reserves can produce 50,000MW electricity for the next 500 years, he claimed.
They also hope to produce gas, diesel, fertiliser and more than 12 other petroleum products.
He said once these projects are completed, they will generate more jobs.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2010.
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