For the last few weeks, a perception is once again being crafted in the media that Thar coal is not a viable energy option.

This is also evident from a falsely reported statement of the federal minister for water and power that ‘Thar coal power generation project is an unfeasible option’.

The reported statement portrays the persistent reluctance at the federal level to own the Thar coal project though the federal minister soon clarified that his position, saying ‘ rather Thar coal is viable’. However, the minister further said some experts have questions about the viability of underground Thar coal gasification project which could not produce electricity earliest as claimed.

The President of Pakistan has thus approved $4billion power project with its four components consisting of coal imports from abroad, import of generators from China, conversion of existing thermal (oil /gas) power houses to the coal generation , and reducing circular debt.

The history of antagonism to Thar coal is prolonged, starting from the abrupt cancellation of Keti Bandar coal power project in end 1990s to the dismissal of Chinese Shenhua’s company’s proposal of producing power from Thar coal at 5.6 cents per KWH in mid 2000s, followed by an unexpected closure of World Bank Thar coal to power generation project in the end 2009.

It is widely believed that various hidden barriers exist in early utilization of Thar coal. These barriers include vested interests of oil mafia, people who are trying to promote Kalabagh dam, environment polluting developed countries, prevailing critical law and order situation and comparatively cheap and easy to exploit energy options still available at its terminal end in the global energy market etc.

Despite of all the above barricades to Thar coal urtilisation, the national and regional energy options including oil, gas, nuclear, hydro, solar and wind energy etc. - are either depleting swiftly or economically expensive and strategically becoming unattainable in the given geo-political global and regional scenario.

While the government has opted an unsustainable approach of ‘inevitable’ oil imports meeting the national energy crisis, a report of Morgan Stanley launched in 2010 forecasted that the increasing international oil prices will cross the peak of $200 per barrel by 2020.

Concurrently, Pakistan Business Council predicted that the oil import bills of the country may exceed $124 billion by then. Hence continuing to import oil, to meet the energy crisis, seems very harmful to the national economy.

It is imperative that relevant authorities make all serious efforts to immediately avail the only feasible option of utilising Thar Coal to meet the short-term as well as long-term energy requirements of the country. In the given vague scenario of snags and slowdowns of Thar coal projects, here are few suggestions to expedite their implementation.

The government should immediately complete all the planned ancillary infrastructure work – a part of approved Sindh government budget this year—- including urgent provision of barrage water to Thar, roads and communications infrastructures, power transmission line, railway line, air strip, gas and electrification projects etc.

In addition, Sindh government should also take all appropriate measures on war-footing to speed up execution of pilot project of open-pit mining-led coal to power project launched a couple of years ago as a joint venture of Sindh government and Engro Energy.

-    Since the pilot underground coal gasification project is only suitable for thin seamed coal reserves, it is an expensive option to excavate.

While it is estimated that Thar coal field has very limited reserves of thin coal seams, the viability of that specific coal gasification project should at all not be linked with the overall feasibility options of Thar coal mining and power generation projects.

In order to convince investors in Thar, the authorities should devise a comprehensive master plan of utilisation of Thar coal based on feasibilities, assessments and researches undertaken so far by various stakeholders over last two decades. This plan should embody developing GIS based database of entire Thar coal field area portraying phase-wise mining, separate mine-wise groundwater extraction and water drainage/utilisation plan and mine-wise overburden management and mines-reclamation plan etc.

In addition, there is also need to hype the provided monetary/ tariffs/ taxes/ levies incentives and benefits which are already announced for likely investors apart of declaring Thar as special economic zone.

Also, government should be careful to link all kind of energy plans and projects with the upcoming development of Thar coal instead introducing deviating energy plans. Most importantly, the recent energy project of $4billion should also be very much linked with and complimented to the early exploitation of Thar coal.

As a part of this project, the import of coal, generators and converting of oil and gas power-houses to coal-based power generation may meet the immediate power needs but, in parallel, authorities should strategically work on all possible options to produce Thar coal at the earliest ( in next two to three years). This project should be linked with objective of switching over from oil to coal imports until most of existing power-houses in country are converted to the coal.

Thus, by next two to three years the abundant coal consuming power-houses should be in place when Thar coal would too be adequately available in the market. Seeing an ample number of power-houses consuming coal in the country, investors will be encouraged to invest in Thar coal.

Simultaneously, addressing the issue of circular debt would also help to remove obstacles in likely investment in Thar coal. The circular debt is seen as the prime reason of economic catastrophe in power sector. Thus addressing the issue of circular debt will also compliment the early development of Thar coal.

Indeed Thar coal is now emerging as an attractive option for global investors due to soaring prices of depleting oil and gas reserves worldwide. Over the past nine months of 2012, various investors of China, Russia, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, UK and America etc.

have showed keen interest of investing in Thar coal. Thus, the present government should remove all obstacle in the exploitation of Thar coal and seize upon the emerging opportunities.

The writer has worked as a consultant in different energy projects, including Thar Coal