Sindh govt extends financial incentive to mining companies working in Thar

The Thar Coal & Energy Board (TCEB) has extended the applicability of financial incentive of 20 per cent dollar-based equity internal rate of return (IRR) to all coal-mining companies working in the Thar coalfield which can achieve financial close till 31st December, 2019.

This decision was taken on Saturday in the 20th TCEB meeting held under the chairmanship of the chief minister of Sindh/chairman of the Thar Coal & Energy Board (TCEB), Syed Murad Ali Shah.

The meeting was attended by provincial minister Imtiaz Shaikh, Shabir Bijarani, Syed Sardar Shah, Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, MNA Shazia Marri, Chairman P&D M Waseem, Waseem Mukhtiar, additional secretary (Power Division), Islamabad, Musaddiq Khan, secretary energy of Sindh, MD Thar Coal Tariq Ali Shah.

The chief minister/chairman of the TCEB welcomed the participants and shared his views on the establishment of the TCEB and the development projects undertaken over the last decade.

Shah congratulated the members on achieving the milestone of the commissioning of First Power Plant based on Thar coal with the national grid.

He added that the Sindh government had fulfilled the promises and the vision of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and turned them into reality. “Thar will definitely change Sindh as was envisioned by our leadership,” he said.

The board extended the applicability of a financial incentive of 20 per cent dollar-based equity internal rate of return (IRR) to all coal-mining companies working in the Thar coalfield which can achieve financial close till 31st December, 2019. The IRR will be 18 per cent for those companies which fail to achieve financial close by 31st December, 2019, and will be entitled to 18 per cent the IRR up to 31st December, 2020.

The CM emphasised that the mining companies should strictly bound themselves by the decisions of the TCEB with respect to the implementation of projects as per the parameter set by the TCEB.

He further stressed the need for creating a regulated environment where the return of equity and fiscal incentives were provided, whereas the implementation of decisions of the regulator was also mandatory.

He appreciated the work of tariff determination committee and emphasised the need to further develop the in-house capacity of the TCEB.

The CEOs of SECMC and SSRL (the companies working for the Thar coal project) gave detailed presentations of their project to the board. The board appreciated their hard work and directed them to abide by their timelines.

The board further advised both mining companies to give maximum jobs to locals so that the local Thar population could be benefited by these projects.

It also advised them to abide by the environmental and social guideline of the government and adopt all measures to mitigate the potential impact of coal-mining.

Others who attended the meeting included Jamal Mustafa Syed, DG EPA Naeem Mughal, Abdul Ghani Pathan, member, Thar Coal Tariff Determination Committee, Sultann Farooq, member TCTDC, Abdul Fazal Rizivi, CEO, SECMC, and Chowdhry Abdul Qayoum, CEO, SSRL.