ISLAMABAD, April 19: The proposed 1,000mw Thar Coal Power Project in Sindh is facing serious technical problems and it will now require a fresh feasibility study based on a new project site.

This was disclosed at a meeting of the board of directors of the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) held here on Wednesday. Minister for Water and Power Liaqat Ali Jatoi presided over the meeting.

The board, therefore, decided to convene a meeting of all stakeholders, including provincial and federal representatives, officials of Wapda and investors concerned, at the project site next month to facilitate the new feasibility study. The project sponsor - AES Corporation of the United States - presented a progress report on the power project and the meeting discussed key issues relating to the project.

The meeting was told that one of the key issues was the availability of water for power generation. The underground water, representatives of the AES said, was not sufficient to meet requirements of the project and canal water was very far and required huge capital investment to bring it to the plant site.

The meeting was also informed that the company was considering many options for water availability as well as feasibility of the change in the project site and transportation of coal from Thar.

The board allowed the AES to submit its comprehensive study within six months.

It decided to hold a meeting at the project site next month to review infrastructure facilities at the site. The Sindh chief minister, provincial minister for mines, secretary for ministry of water and power, Wapda chairman, PPIB managing director and a representative of the AES will be invited to the meeting for quick resolution of the issue.

In a related development, the minister for power directed the KESC to expedite rehabilitation of existing power generation projects and to improve the distribution system.