May 03, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 26, 1429

KARACHI, May 2: The mines and minerals department has issued notices to many parties, including Fateh Group with a mining lease in Lakhra and Hassan Associates in Thar area for slow progress and not submitting any feasibility studies despite a lapse of several years.

Their mining leases may be cancelled, if they did not give a valid reason for the delay in the feasibility studies, said a senior official in the department on condition of anonymity.

He said about 13 to 14 MoUs were signed for mining of coal for power generation with parties in 2005. Since none of these parties have come up with a feasibility report, the government has decided to take up mining of coal deposits for generating power.

He said a project for coal power generation would be initiated soon in public-private partnership and he was optimistic that power generation from Thar coal would come on line within three to four years if work was taken on a fast track and no administrative delays occurred.

To a question, he said that the government could not rely on private sector for vital projects, like airports, ports and mining of minerals, which could produce cheaper electricity to overcome energy crisis, which is compounding with each passing day.

The government has, therefore, decided to come up with its own investment to bring the Thar coal deposits on line for a greater national cause.

When asked how the Sindh government would tackle the issue of tariff, which has so far been a real snag in power generation from Thar coal, the senior official said things had changed a lot since 2004 when the Chinese company was refused a tariff of 5.75 KW/H against a government offer of 5.34 cents..

The country now has reached such a point of energy shortage that it cannot afford to oppose any project deemed to produce cheaper electricity.

Rising oil prices have also left no alternative for the country, but to exploit vast coal deposits to meet its ever-increasing energy needs, he added.

He said since the Pakistan People’s Party government was opposed to Kalabagh Dam, it would readily go for the development of Thar coal deposits, which could meet energy needs of the entire country.

According to a study, 200 million tons of proven coal reserves in six blocks are enough to produce 1,000MW electricity daily for 30 to 35 years.

Further, 26 per cent of the energy needs of the country could be met at the initial phase of development of the deposits.

The total coal reserves have been estimated at 340 billion tons.

The Sindh Coal Authority held an international symposium last year to seek opinion of the international experts on the possible upfront tariff for power generation from the Thar coal.

It was also aimed at determining economical ways to exploiting coal for power generation.