by Shamim Ahmed Rizvi
The governor of Sindh province Mohammad Mian Soomro who is the Vice Chairman
of the task force told newsmen after the 3rd meeting of the Force in Karachi
last week that the government has approached some international investors
including Chinese, to form a joint venture for the development of coal
reserves in Thar (Sindh) deserts which had largest reserves of coal in the
world. Most likely Chinese will be our partner in this venture, observed
Mian Soomro. . . .
Pakistan's Thar Desert contains the largest coal reserves discovered
to date, covering an area of 10,000 square kilometers. The Thar Coal Field,
should it be developed, will yield over 200 billion ton of coal used to
produce electricity, it will yield sufficient power to make Pakistan
self-sufficient in Electrical power. Pakistan has reserves of natural gas,
but these will start to diminish by 2010.
Since the discovery of Thar coal in 1991 very little development work or
study has been initiated. Thar coal has low calorific value but is
environmentally friendly with a low Sulfur content. The Thar coal deposits
extend across the border and they are currently being mined for power
generation in Rajistan in India. India has no reservations about the use of
these coal deposits. Coal extraction from Thar will be a development
requiring 3-4 years before coal is made available for use. The ideal
situation would be that GOP uses the coal to reduce Pakistan's dependence on
hydro projects, the only alternative method is to develop the Thar coal via
international financing. This is possible only by inviting international
power companies to invest in Pakistan and provide the required funding for
the development of the Thar coal field. . . .
FULL TEXT
Michel Chossudovsky, "The
Destabilization of Pakistan," Centre for Research on Globalisation,
December 30, 2007
"Afghanistan, Pakistan: Obama's
War," The Wisdom Fund, March 28, 2009
"Energy Wars: The Destabilization of
Baluchistan," The Wisdom Fund, July 12, 2009
[Dr Murtaza Mughal president of Pakistan Economy Watch
in a statement said that these reserves of coal worth USD 25 trillion can
not only cater to the electricity requirements of the country for the next
100 years but also save almost four billion dollars in staggering oil import
bill.--"Petroleum Companies Cartel Not
Letting Thar Coal Reserves Develop," Alaiwah!, August 19, 2009]
"Thar Coal -
Key to Energy Security of Pakistan," brecorder.com, February 1, 2014