Karachi: Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday (August 16) requested the federal government to fund the construction of a 105 km railway line between Thar Coalfield in Islamkot and Chhor to transport coal to central areas of the country, media sources reported.
In this regard, a meeting was held at CM house with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (PM) on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) affairs Khalid Mansoor. The meeting was also attended by Energy Secretary Tariq Shah, Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh, Investment Secretary Zahid Abbasi, and Special Assistance to the CM on Investment Qasim Naveed.
As per the details shared, CM Murad Ali Shah disclosed that the feasibility study for the railway line has already been conducted by a private firm. It was informed that the project will cost USD 160 million and the cost of rolling stock will be USD 127 million.
Moreover, the CM recommended to execute the railway line project under federal Public Sector Development Programme. It was reported that the Pakistan Railways authorities had prepared PC-1 of the project at the cost of PKR 130 billion. Its approval is still pending from the federal government.
Apart from this, CM Murad informed the meeting members that the existing rail network, from Chhor-Mirpurkhas-Hyderabad to Port Qasim will be restored for coal transportation. During the meeting, Thar Coalfield Block-VI was also discussed. It was mentioned that M/S Oracle Powers was working on the integrated project of a coal mine, coal-to-gas (CtG), coal-to-liquid (CtL) facility, and power plant.
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