KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly was told on Thursday that the federal government had been delaying the approval of several power generating projects, including 35 wind energy projects, for the past many years, while several other schemes and projects had been halted.

Furnishing a statement and replying to lawmakers’ written and verbal queries during the Question Hour session in the assembly, Energy Minister Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh told the house that foreign investment of over Rs1 billion was involved in 35 wind power projects, which was pending approval with the federal government.

He said that there were as many as 24 wind power plants working in the Thatta-Jhimpir wind corridor, the biggest wind corridor in the country, generating 1,236 megawatts.

“Wind power is the cheapest in terms of cost,” he said adding that the federal government was not taking any interest in these projects only because they belonged to Sindh.

He also came down heavily on the opposition members of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and asked them to play their role in resolution of the province’s problems instead of creating rumpus off and on in the provincial assembly.

“The province is being pushed to the wall,” the minister lamented and asked the PTI members if this was their love for the province.

He said that the economic solution of the country was in Thar, where huge reserves of coal were present, but the “oil mafia” had surrounded the PTI federal ministers to fail alternative means of low-price power generation such as coal and wind.

The minister also complained that Sindh produced gas and oil more than any other province, but had no representation in Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and other energy related federal institutions.

Replying to a question asked by Grand Democratic Alliance’s member Arif Mustafa Jatoi, the minister said the provincial government’s equity commitment in joint venture with Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) accumulated to $110.4 million for Phase-1 of the Thar coal power project.

He said that total equity contribution as well as Stand-by-Letters of Credit (SBLCs) issued by the provincial government through Sindh Coal Development Fund totalled to Rs11.561bn for Phase-I of the project.

Giving further details, the minister said that the SECMC achieved its financial close for Phase-I of the project for production of 3.8 million tonnes per annum coal on April 4, 2016 with an approved project cost of $845m, which was later revised down to approximately $734m.

“The Phase-1 of the mining project is being financed through debt/equity ratio of 75:25 and the cost of the Phase-II Expansion Project was approximately $216m through equity of $67m and debt of $149m,” he added.

Responding to a supplementary question raised by Mr Jatoi, the minister said that the work on the Thar coal power project was launched in 1994 by the then federal government of Pakistan Peoples Party.

He said that the coal power plant at Block-I of Thar was generating 1,320MW.

Replying to a written question asked by the GDA member, he said that an amount of Rs6.5bn was spent on construction work for drainage of 50 cusecs waste water and effluent channel from mining area of Tharparkar.

The minister said that a strong effluent disposal system, required for Thar Coal Block-II, was built for drainage channel of 50 cusecs of sub-surface mine water, placing 37 kilometres pipeline of 48-inch diameter with seven kilometres stone pitching.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2019