To explore coal deposits, set up 1,000MW power plant: Thar coalfield block allotted to 2 foreign firms

KARACHI: The Thar Coal and Energy Board decided on Tuesday to allot Block-8 of the Thar coalfield to UAE’s Bin Daen Group Dubai and Korea’s PEDCO for exploring the coal deposits and establishing a 1,000 MW mine-mouth thermal power plant in Tharparkar. The decision was taken at the third meeting of the board held at the Sindh Chief Minister’s House, under the chairmanship of Sindh CM Qaim Ali Shah. Federal Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf and other concerned officials of the federal and provincial governments attended the meeting. According to an official handout, it was decided that a Memorandum of Understanding would be singed soon with the Dubai and Korean firms, with the signing ceremony likely to be held in Karachi. The board was informed that this will be the first and largest single thermal power plant in Pakistan, which will provide electricity to more than two million households and 600,000 factories, besides creating approximately 90,000 jobs for both skilled and unskilled labourers. The board also decided that the approval of proposed addition of members would be presented at the next board meeting. It was also decided to appoint legal consultants for the board. The meeting discussed in detail the 11-point agenda, which included reviewing of the ‘Letter of Intent’ for Bin Daen Group, Pan Energy Developing Company (PEDCO), Korean Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and Deloitte Anjin L.L.C to explore coal in Tharparkar district. The chief minister said that the present government fully intends to utilise coal resources of the province and various internationally experienced groups are approaching for coal mining and power generation projects. Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan