Thar Coal Block-VI project under CPEC will help meet the energy demand: CM Sindh

KARACHI-Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that due to depleting gas reserves there would be serious shortage in urea manufacturing by 2026-27 for which Thar Coal has a cheapest solution.The Sindh government under CPEC has dedicated Block-IV for clean coal technology like coal to liquids (diesel) and coal to gas to fertilizer. In 2025 to 27, Pakistan would need 2.6 MTPA of urea per annum and one fourth of the Block-VI of Thar coal has potential to produce it for 30 years. This he said on Wednesday while talking a 40-member delegation of Chinese public and private investors led by former Ambassador of China in Pakistan.

Mr Sha Zukang. The chief minister was assisted by provincial ministers, Saeed Ghani, Nasir Shah, Ikramullah Dharejo and Advisor to CM Murtaza Wahab. Chairperson P&D Naheed Shah, Secretary Finance, Secretary energy, secretary local government and other concerned officers also attended the meeting.The chief minister and the Chinese investors also agreed to work together in agriculture sector right from grading, cold storage and to value addition.He directed all the concerned departments to prepare working papers and submit the same with the Chinese firms through their delegation head so that projects to be taken up would be finalised.Secretary Energy Musadiq Khan, taking the chief minister point of view further, said that the local gas reserves were depleting day by day and by the end of 2026 it would affect production of urea. Secretary Energy said that among all the alternatives for gas, the RLNG, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan & India (TAPI), Iran, Pakistan & India (IPI), new domestic discovery production of syngas from Thar coal was the cheapest source which could be produced at $3 per MMBTU.The chief minister said that on the request of Sindh government, the Joint Coordination Committee of CPEC projects had included Block-VI of Thar Coal field for generation of 1320 MW power in phase-I and coal to gas to urea in phase-II, which is moving towards clean coal technologies.He further said that Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB), Government of Pakistan has approved issuance of LOI for 1320 MW on Thar coal Block-VI to Beijing Jingneng Energy, a Chinese firm, but it has not obtained the LoI despitelapse of four to five months. He urged the head of Chinese delegation and Chinese Council General in Karachito help Beijing Jingneng Energy in obtaining the LoI at Block -VI.Secretary informed delegates about 200 MW waste to energy potential in Karachi city alone. Murad said that the Sindh government has allowed all wind power projects to establish hybrid projects with solar on the same land [of their wind power projects] and this was another opportunity for Chinese investment.Musadiq said that the Sindh government has got its own provincial Grid Company. Chinese investors can utilize Sindh Transmission & Dispatch Company (STDC) as vehicle for investment in the transmission sector in Sindh. He added that another opportunity was investment in automated metering infrastructure in the distribution companies in Sindh, that was Hesco and Sepco. The Chinese investors also offered to invest in Desalination plant and treatment plant in Karachi. They also offered to establish factories for producing