Islamabad: Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) has discovered coal reserves of over two billion tons in Thar Block II, reported a news source. The first layer of the coal was unearthed by the company on Sunday, suggesting that Pakistan will soon be producing thousands of megawatts of cheap electricity.
The first layer of indigenous coal was unearthed from an open-pit coal mine in Block II of Thar, at a depth of 140 metres.
The SECMC is the largest private-public partnership to develop the country’s first open-pit coal mine, which will have an annual output of 3.8 million tonnes. This joint venture is between the Government of Sindh and six private sponsors; Habib Bank Ltd., Thal Ltd, Hubco, Engro Energy, and two Chinese companies SPIC and CMEC.
Power production from Thar Coal Block II project will start by June 2019, where work on the power plant is underway in full swing. It is one of the largest energy schemes in Pakistan where investment worth USD 2 billion is promised.
