Sindh to establish 405 MW power project

Karachi: The Sindh government has decided to establish a coal-based power generation plant in Thatta district to generate 405 megawatts electricity to overcome the growing energy crisis. The coal-based power plant will be set up near Sonda, some 40-km away from Thatta town.

The plant will produce 405 megawatts electricity in three years, official sources in the Mines and Minerals Department said. They said a Chinese company CMC has been awarded the contract to complete the project at an estimated cost of $1 billion. In line with the project plan, the plant will generate 135MW from coal reserves every year.

The officials said that a team comprising 12 engineers of a Chinese firm has begun work following the feasibility report of the project to undertake the development work. 'The experts of the firm and staff of the Mines and Mineral Department have established their camp offices at the site and doing their job on an emergency basis so that work could be started as early as possible. The prevailing energy crisis will be over this year,' they added.

They believed that the Sonda area has coal reserves of more than 300 million tonnes. There are 173 gas fields in Pakistan, of them 140 are located in Sindh, 22 in Punjab, 7 in Balochistan and four in NWFP. 'The coal reserves are a huge source of power generation, which will help overcome the electricity shortage in the country,' they said. The World Bank is also keen to invest in two developed blocks of the Thar coal projects. Besides, many foreign countries have shown interest in Thar coal development projects.

To a question, the officials said that the President had resolved the dispute between Sindh government and the federal government over the rights of Thar coal. Now, the provincial government can independently decide and carry out the project through Thar Coal Development Board. About the authority of fixing tariff, the officials said that the Sindh Energy Board will decide the price of electricity to be generated from coal reserves.