Thar as guarantor of Pakistan’s energy security

Senator Mushahid Hussain says CPEC is the single most transformative initiative for Pakistan’s economic development in the last 30 years.

By Naveed Naqvi

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary delegation that visited CPEC projects in Sindh has termed Thar as a strong guarantor of Pakistan’s future energy security.

The delegation was organized by Pakistan China Institute (PCI) in collaboration with Power China in Port Qasim and Shanghai Electric and Sindh Electric Coal Mining Company (SECMC) in Thar.

During the 3-day visit, the delegation first visited the Power China project at Port Qasim, which generates 1320 MW of electricity.

Power China CEO Guo welcomed the delegation and briefed them about the project.

Port Qasim Power Plant, an early harvest project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), provides electricity to more than 4 million homes through clean energy and emits environmentally safe white smoke using supercritical technology.

Then on the second day of the visit to Sindh CPEC projects, the delegation visited Thar where it first visited the Sindh Electric Coal Mining Company (SECMC), a joint private public joint venture between the Government of Sindh and China.

The delegation also visited the newly established 1320 MW power plant with the investment of Shanghai Electric.

Speaking to officials of CPEC projects in Port Qasim and Thar, Senator Mushahid Hussain described CPEC as the single most transformative initiative for economic development in the last 30 years as it has improved energy security, employment and livelihoods.

Hussain said that Pakistan has immense natural resources, including mineral wealth, natural gas and water wealth, which need to be used for the blue economy.

There are 175 billion tons of coal reserves in Thar alone, which are more than oil reserves of Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Thanks to CPEC, this ‘black gold’ is now contributing to the national economy. Natural gas reserves in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are many times greater than those in Sui.

Senator Mushahid Hussain said that if we truly take advantage of our mineral wealth, natural gas and offshore blue economy, which has a total value of around one trillion dollars, then Pakistan can say goodbye to IMF handouts.

The parliamentary delegation included Mahesh Milani, MNA, Minister of State for Health, Senator Dr. Zarqa Suhrawardy, Qaiser Sheikh, MNA, Chairman National Assembly Finance Committee, Senator Quraul Ain Marri, Muhammad Abubakar MNA, Chairman National Assembly Parliamentary Committee. Affairs Committee and Senator Muhammad Akram Baloch.