Khursheed asks PM to release funds for Thar power project

ISLAMABAD: Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah on Tuesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the release of the funds for completion of 100MW power plant  in Thar, Sindh.

In his letter, the opposition leader said Thar coalfield is Pakistan’s black gold and can play a key role in development and in December 2010, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved 100MW power project at Thar, to be operated via underground coal gasification technique. 

“The estimated cost of the project at that time was approximately Rs9 billion, however, till date only Rs3 billion have been released for the project despite the fact that it has the potential to produce bulk of clean and cheap electricity along with tons of gas and other useful products like diesel using coal,” he stated.

Khursheed said the pilot project is already in place and producing 10MW electricity through underground coal gasification process. However, he stated that to enhance the production capacity, adequate funds were not provided over the years, which is criminal negligence.

“The project once completed can help us in resolving our energy needs at cheaper costs for a long period of time,” he said. The opposition leader asked the prime minister to make personal intervention to solve the issue in the public interest.