Development of 'Thar Coal Gasification Project': government begins seeking potential foreign investors

The federal government has initiated the process of seeking potential foreign investors for the development of 'Thar Coal Gasification Project', which was earlier termed technically unfeasible. Sources in Board of Investment (BOI) said that a meeting had been called to discuss various options available for the development of huge coal deposits at Thar.
"It has been decided that the investors who already showed their interest in the investment will be invited," they added. Taking into account the experience of coal gasification in India as well as China which have already failed, federal government earlier termed it technically unfeasible, the sources said.
Pakistan is yet at mining stage where coal gasification is not possible at present. Planning Commission, which is the executing agency of the project, had conceived a pilot project 'Thar Coal Gasification', which created differences between federal and Sindh governments.
The National Assembly's Standing Committee on Petroleum was informed on Monday that the best available option was the coal bed gasification on which a research team led by Dr Samar Mubarak Mand was working.
It has been learnt that Sindh government had strongly resisted and warned Planning Commission not to table it again on the agenda of Central Development Working Party (CDWP) of Planning Commission for consideration. They said that after resistance by Sindh government, the Planning Commission had said that the scope of the project had been broadened to include other coal deposit areas of the economy and there was a need to modify the title and scope of the project.
Subsequently, the Planning Commission changed the title of the project and renamed it as 'Creation of New Processing Facilities (for handling and purification of Coal Gas (HPCG) produced by underground Coal Gasification in any Coal field in Pakistan'.
In the modified PC-1 of the project, it was proposed that the scope of the project would not be limited to district Tharparkar and would be broadened to cover coal deposits in other areas so that other coal deposits of Punjab, NWFP, Balochistan, FATA, GB and AJK could be explored. Sindh had also questioned the role of the Planning Commission as executing agency of the project.
The project, titled 'Creation of New Processing Facilities (for handling and purification of Coal Gas (HPCG) produced by underground coal gasification' was approved in the CDWP meeting held on April 30, 2009. The aim of the project is to create new processing facility for handling and purification of coal gas produced by underground coal gasification located in Tharparkar Sindh. The proposed modifications in the title and location/scope of the project were approved and PC-1 would be modified accordingly. Total cost of the project is Rs490.480 million including foreign exchange component of Rs79.700 million.