If Islamabad has failed, hand it over to Tharis, says Bilawal
THARPARKAR: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has questioned the argument that new provinces should be created because the existing system has failed, saying that if Islamabad has failed, it should instead be handed over to the people of Tharparkar, who, he said, could fix it.
Addressing a ceremony in Tharparkar, Bilawal said, “I do not understand the logic that because the system has collapsed, new provinces should be created.” “If Islamabad has failed, hand it over to the people of Tharparkar. We will fix it,” he said.
Bilawal said Tharparkar had demonstrated that development and progress were possible through effective public-private partnerships and investment in local communities.
He said the transformation taking place in Thar was not visible anywhere else in the country. “Along with transformation, Thar has also witnessed development. Pakistan is surprised to see how far Thar has progressed,” Bilawal said. He urged Islamabad to focus on bringing development similar to that achieved in Thar.
Bilawal said around 600 megawatts of electricity was currently being generated from Thar Block-II, while power generation in Thar Block-III would reach around 2,000 megawatts.
He recalled that experts in Islamabad had previously claimed that Thar coal had no significant value. “Today, by using Thar coal, we are saving $1.6 billion in foreign exchange,” he said. The PPP chairman said Thar coal was also being used to produce gas and fertiliser and stressed the need to complete the proposed coal-to-fertiliser project at the earliest.
Bilawal said that 90 percent of jobs in Thar were being provided to youth from Sindh, while 60 percent of employment in Thar projects was going to young people from Thar itself. Bilawal further said Sindh wanted to bring about transformation in Islamabad and Karachi through public-private partnerships.
He said Sindh government intended to establish Sindh Investment Zones under the public-private partnership model and also planned to develop a port at Thatta through public-private partnership.
Thar coal production to rise to 11.2 million tonnes annually: CM Sindh
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah arrived in Tharparkar on Monday, where Bilawal is scheduled to inaugurate the Phase-III project of Thar Coal Block-II.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah said coal production in Thar would increase from 7.6 million tonnes to 11.2 million tonnes annually following the completion of Phase-III, adding that the new phase would increase coal production by 3.6 million tonnes per year.
He said the Thar Coal Phase-III project was being completed with 100 percent self-financing.
The chief minister claimed that electricity generated from Sindh’s locally produced coal would be three times cheaper than electricity generated using imported coal.
The chief minister said a 660-megawatt Lucky Electric power plant would also operate on Thar coal under Phase-III. With the completion of the project, total power generation from Thar would reach 1,980 megawatts.
He said electricity generated from Thar coal after Phase-III would benefit around 4.5 million households daily, while the project would save approximately Rs15 billion annually in electricity generation costs.
Phase-III would also help Pakistan save around $220 million annually in foreign exchange, he said adding Thar coal projects had already resulted in foreign exchange savings of more than $1.7 billion.
Murad Ali Shah said the Sindh government had initiated the project with its investment and commitment and had developed basic infrastructure in Thar, including roads, an airport, water supply and electricity transmission facilities.
According to the chief minister, Thar has coal reserves of around 175 billion tonnes, which were discovered in the 1990s. He said the foundation stone of the first coal-fired power plant in Thar was laid in 1996, while the federal government provided a sovereign guarantee for the Thar Coal project in 2013.
Murad Ali Shah said Thar Block-II was among the projects that delivered some of the early benefits of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The chief minister said independent power producers (IPPs) were gradually shifting from imported coal to locally produced Thar coal.
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