Thar Coal Block I, II to ensure entire country’s energy security: CM

Under the banner of Sindh Vision, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Thursday showcased the development initiatives undertaken by the Pakistan Peoples Party’s government in the province over the past 15 years through pictorial and video presentations on a big screen at the auditorium of the provincial assembly.

Members of the civil society attended the first-ever elaborate and comprehensive presentation of such kind. Representatives of the chambers of trade & commerce, media houses and their associations, religious leaders of different faiths, provincial ministers and police chief, the chief secretary, and secretaries of various government departments also attended the session.

Thar coal

The CM said that the total power generation based on Thar coal was 3,240 MW. He also provided a breakdown: Thar Coal Block-I, which was installed for $2 billion, generates 1,320 MW, while Thar Coal Block-II has generated 660 MW since July 2019.

He said Thar Energy has been generating 330 MW since September 2022, Thal Nova Power Thar has been generating 330 MW since February 2023, and Lucky Electric Power at Port Qasim has been generating 660 MW since March 2022.

He mentioned that Thar Coal Block-I and Block-II alone would ensure the country’s energy security by generating power from local resources, and thus saving foreign exchange.

He also mentioned that the ongoing projects, including coal to gas fertiliser, the Keti Bandar Park of 10,000 MW, and the Dhabeji special economic zones, would help ensure the economic security of the country once they are commissioned.

Housing initiative

He discussed the construction of houses for those affected by the floods in Sindh, mentioning that out of the rural population of 23 million, the focus is on reconstructing houses for 14 million people. He revealed that at 15 million, the number of project beneficiaries exceeds the population of 154 countries worldwide.

He provided an update on the housing project, saying that validation of two million houses has been completed, 805,000 bank accounts have been opened, funds have been provided to 555,000 affected people, 373,000 houses have reached the post-plinth level, and 150,000 houses have been fully constructed.

He disclosed that Rs112 billion has been secured for the construction of 2.1 million houses. Addressing the impact of the largest housing initiative in the world, he noted that it has bolstered women’s empowerment, generated over a million jobs, and facilitated financial inclusion through two million bank accounts.

During the presentation, two documentaries were screened: one featuring Noor Khatoon from District Thatta, showcasing the process from receiving the first instalment to the completion of a resilient house, and another highlighting the transparent management information system process, including tracking of each beneficiary in real-time.

Health

The CM said that the biggest achievement of his government’s partnership with the Child Life Foundation was that today every child in Sindh is within 30 minutes of world-class emergency care — 24/7 and free of charge.

He said that the model includes modern emergency rooms in nine teaching hospitals of the province in Karachi, Hyderabad, Shaheed Benazirabad, Larkana and Sukkur, and a tele-medicine network covering all Tehsils of Sindh where 24/7 consultation is provided by a paediatric specialist.

Talking about the tangible impact of all of this, the chief executive of the province said that more than a million children were provided emergency care in 2023-24.

Quoting a US-based independent research report, he said that the mortality of critically ill paediatric patients coming to Sindh’s emergency rooms was much lower than in 19 similar countries (1.2 per cent versus 6.3 per cent).

He said that for synergy, the Child Life Foundation has partnered with other organisations for greater impact. The high-quality paediatric emergency room significantly reduced mortality across the province, he added.

Talking about NICVD/SICVD, Shah said that it has established 29 chest pain units across the province, including 19 in Karachi and 10 in the rural areas. He said that four new chest pain units would be added to the network: one each in Nooriabad, Dadu, Shahdadkot and Islamkot.

Talking about JPMC, he said that in 2018, a 550-bed surgical complex and OPD, a 120-bed psychiatry ward and OPD, a 110-bed neurology ward and OPD, a new ophthalmology OPD, the Jinnah food complex, an extension of emergency, renovation of neurosurgery, a morgue and Jamia Masjid were constructed/established.

He also said that the equipment provided to the JPMC includes two CyberKnife units, two tomotherapy units, an upgrade of Cobalt to Equinox, radiology CT and MRI, digital mammography, a lithotripsy facility, an upgrade of the dialysis facility, lab computerisation and a surgical robot.

Shah told the audience that his government, in collaboration with Patients’ Aid, would establish a new 12-storey, 600-bed, fully-equipped medical tower with an MICU, a CCU, cath labs, endoscopy and a dedicated medical OPD complex at the JPMC. “We’ll also establish a new six-storey officers’ ward with 60 fully-equipped private rooms, and a new 10-storey fully-equipped accident & emergency/trauma complex with dedicated operation theatres and an imaging section.”

SIUT’s journey

The CM said that the SIUT’s transformation journey has achieved many milestones in urology, nephrology and transplant. He said that a comprehensive healthcare system with 1,500 beds, 82 departments and 3,943 employees is in place.

He pointed out that the SIUT’s eight centres are serving in Karachi, two in Sukkur, and one each in Larkana and Shikarpur. He disclosed that from 2011 to 2024, 3.7 million patients from all over Pakistan have benefited. He said the SIUT has the largest dialysis centre that has provided dialysis to over 9,000 patients in 2023-24.

He also said that it has over 420 machines and a dialysis system at nine premises, with services round the clock in six shifts, performing more than 1,500 sessions daily, with over 60 per cent of all dialysis in Sindh. The SIUT has performed 7,226 liver transplants, including 1,000 paediatric, to date, he added.

Autism

Shah said his provincial government had established the country’s first and largest autism centre in Karachi’s Orangi Town and Gulistan-e-Jauhar respectively, then another centre in Gambat.

Education

He said his government has not only upgraded the existing universities, such as NED University, Mehran University Jamshoro, and IBA Sukkur, but also established nine new universities. He also showed pictures of various schools the provincial government has established during the past 10 years.

Social protection

The CM said that Rs12 billion has been allocated in 2024-25 for social protection. Out of that, Rs10 billion is allocated to the Sindh Peoples Support Programme aimed at providing monetary support to the people living below the poverty line in Sindh.

Peoples Bus Service

He told the audience that a project of Intra-District Peoples Bus Service has been launched for $44.275 million. There are 290 buses on feeder routes, including 11 in Karachi, two in Hyderabad, and one each in Sukkur, Larkana, Mirpurkhas and Shaheed Benazirabad, with a daily ridership of 125,000, he pointed out.

He said electric vehicles have also been launched on feeder routes, with 50 buses currently operating on three routes in Karachi. He also said that Asia’s first-ever women-exclusive bus service aimed at improving female mobility has also been launched with 28 buses on five routes. Pink buses have a daily ridership of 3,500, he added.

Karachi’s development

The CM said that mega projects have been completed in Karachi, which include the construction of the Mehran Highway and its storm water drain, the Gulbai to Y-junction road, the main Hawkes Bay Road, and the Machhli Chowk to KANUPP road.