Thar coal power plant govt’s top priority, says Ahsan Iqbal

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said that development of the Thar coal power plant was top priority of the government, which with 175 billion ton of coal would produce 5,000MW annually for 400 years.

He said this while chairing a meeting held here on Tuesday to review progress of coal gasification project in Thar. Dr Samar Mubarak Mand, who is heading the project, briefed that the syngas purification plants, eight power generators and horizontal directional drilling machinery had been installed. He mentioned that eight more generators and other machinery would be installed in the near future.

The minister asked about the financial modeling, cost calculations and evaluation of the scientific model for making the project commercially viable after validation of its technological model.

Dr Samar Mubarak Mand informed 322 million cubic feet gas could be produced along with other useful materials, including diesel. He clarified that the plant was not emitting environmentally hazardous gases in the air since the whole process was being done underground.

The minister desired that the commercialisation feasibility be prepared, and said the private or public investment could be made available for the project if it was found commercially feasible.

“Since the prototype has been developed and functional, and now a business model must be prepared. In order to dispel any negative perception about the project, we must have a scientific validation of the project by a panel of eminent experts,” he said.

The minister assured to visit the site at the earliest to see the processes of generating gas and electricity. Ahsan Iqbal said that Pakistan had very talented engineers who could find solutions to problems in a cost-effective manner.