ISLAMABAD: The Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif said on Thursday that Thar coal power projects of 1320 megawatts will be completed by 2017, according to a report published in RadioPakistan.

Speaking at a press conference, Asif said the completion of these power projects will make Thar the hub of energy and create job opportunities in the region.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari in January jointly performed ground-breaking of the US 1.6 billion dollar Thar coal power project to help the country meet its energy needs.

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The project will be carried out by Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) — a joint venture between Engro Powergen and Government of Sindh — will instal the first of two 300MW units of equal capacity in the first phase. Furthermore, the project has not reached financial close yet. A consortium of Chinese and local banks are expected to finance this project, but it requires a sovereign guarantee of $700m, which has only recently been arranged.

The World Bank had pledged to finance a $30 million project relating to Thar coal but later withdrew its support citing a ‘policy change’ as the reason.

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The Thar coal field has an estimated lignite reserves of 175 billion tonnes, equivalent to the total oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Iran combined and can be used to produce 100,000 MW for 200 years, according to the data available by SECMC.