Government taking measures to utilise 'black gold' of Tharparkar: Qaim

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said that the provincial government was taking all out measures to exploit the 'black gold' energy resources of Tharparkar. He was addressing after a briefing given to him about the Thar coal project by the Managing Director of Gasification Project of Thar coal, Dr Shabir Ahmed during a daylong visit on Friday to village Mangho Bheel near Islamkot. "We need investment and time to complete this project at the earliest," he said.
Qaim Ali Shah said that the country's economy depends on power and Thar coal project was the single source to fulfil the needs of energy and address this crisis. Under the first phase a gasification plant will start five-mega watt electricity production on experimental basis. He said that on experimental basis this gasification plant would start its function in June 2011. Sindh Chief Minister said that non- availability of some necessary machinery including compressor to run the plant was due to delay caused by Tsunami and earthquake in Japan, which was to provide the equipment. He said that we are going to contact Germany and China for further investment with a strategy to start generation of electricity as soon as possible from Thar coal. Sindh Cabinet ministers Pir Mazhar- ul- Haq, Syed Ali Nawaz Shah, Sharjeel Inam Memon, Agha Siraj Durrani, Mukesh Chawla, Jam Mehtab, Rafique Engineer, Taj Haider and other senior PPP leaders were also present.