KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said on Saturday that the fate of a 1,200-megawatt coal-fired power project in Thar hung in the balance as the federal government was reluctant to extend a sovereign guarantee to a Chinese firm.

“The previous PPP government and the Chinese firm had agreed to install a 1,200-MW coal-fired power plant, but the [PML-N-led] federal government is reluctant to extend a sovereign guarantee. This shows how much support and cooperation is being extended to Sindh by the Centre to overcome the energy crisis in the country in general and in Sindh in particular,” said the CM.

Speaking at a programme organised by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, he said that no progress had so far been made on the power project despite his repeated requests to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who had adopted delaying tactics and wasted over two and a half years.

He took a swipe at Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over making an unmet promise regarding provision of funds for the procurement of weapons for the ongoing targeted operation.

The CM said that the PM had committed to providing Rs12 billion to the Sindh government for the purchase of necessary weapons for the targeted operation, but “sorry to say not a single penny has been released so far”.

He said that he was grateful to the PM and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif for their support to restore law and order in Karachi.

He said that the army chief had not only extended moral support but also gave weapons and gadgets to the Sindh police. “[But] the prime minister has extended only moral support. He said you keep on fighting [with terrorists] and I will be there if you sustain an injury,” he said in a lighter vein.

In response to a question, the CM said that the KCCI and the Sindh government had a similar stand on the issue of liquefied natural gas (LNG). “The Constitution says that the province which produces natural gas has first and foremost right to it, but the federal government does not accept it because Sindh is producing natural gas.”

He said that the provinces short of natural gas could meet their needs by importing LNG, but the federal government was bent upon imposing the costly LNG on Sindh.

He promised that he would fight the case of Sindh in the Council of Common Interests and at the other forums.

CM Shah said that constitutionally the federal government was bound to convene the CCI meeting every three months but despite passing several months no meeting had been convened so far. “We want to raise a lot of issues such as sovereign guarantee for coal-fired power plant, LNG etc.”Earlier, KCCI President Younis Bashir and other office-bearers, including Siraj Kassam Teli and Zubair Motiwala, spoke at the programme and highlighted their problems.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2015

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