ISLAMABAD, Nov 24: The government is planning to set up special economic zones (SEZs) in Thar to make use of coal reserves in the area for providing energy.

Addressing a conference on “Interdependence between energy policy and other sectoral policies” here on Monday, Planning Commission’s deputy chairman Salman Faruqui said the government had set up the Thar Coal Board to work out details ahead of a formal announcement about the zones.

The two-day conference, organised by the Saarc Energy Centre, is attended by representatives of Saarc countries and relevant government ministries and divisions.

He said that by harnessing its water and coal resources, Pakistan could meet its domestic energy requirements and export surplus energy to the Indian states adjacent to Thar.

Mr Faruqui said that there was need for bringing together policy planners from energy, environment, health and transportation sectors from all Saarc states to discuss recent developments in their countries and analyse how these developments would impact the policies.

He said that Saarc countries needed energy, adequate health facilities, pollution-free environment and better transport system.

Appropriate integration and correlation were required at policy making level to address these issues.

He said Pakistan was working on how to reduce dependence on imported fuel and increase reliance on domestic resources like water and coal.

He said that last year $11 billion was spent on oil import, which was equal to 65 per cent of the country’s total exports. He said this was one of the major reasons Pakistan had to go to the IMF for financial assistance.

In Pakistan, he said, 40 per cent of power generation was being carried out by the private sector.One of the major roles of the planning commission, he said, was to encourage private sector investments and it had already formed a task force for the purpose.

He said that Pakistan was encouraging private sector investments in alternative energy resources and the first wind power plant would start working in three weeks.

Saarc Energy Centre’s director Hilal A. Raza said that according to an estimate energy consumption in South Asia would double in 10 years and such a growth merited prudent assessment of its implications on other sectors of the economy.

The president of the Global Environment and Energy in the 21st Century, Dr Toufiq Raza, urged planners to examine the linkages and develop coordinated policies for energy, transportation and various aspects of human health.