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PPP ~ Development projects and modernisation of Sindh

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Thank you PPP/ANP government for Ameer Shah hospital, Peshawar. It was constructed by the previous government

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Energetic: Thar coal plant begins power generation

KARACHI:
With the ongoing battle against energy crisis, the Sindh government finally generated one megawatt from the Thar coal power plant through an underground coal gasification process on Thursday.


According to officials, power generation will be enhanced to 10MW by the end of this year and 100MW by 2016.

“We have successfully produced 1MW and 4MW is present in our system. Initially, the electricity will be supplied to our projects and a nearby village,” said renowned scientist Dr Samar Mubarakmand, who heads the project.

Ten wells have been dug up for Thar coal-fired power plant near Islamkot, each with a distance of 50 metres. After the gasification process, pure gas is connected to coal gas generators imported from China from where the electricity is produced, according to officials.

“In these wells, steel pipes are drilled down to 600 feet to reach the coal bed and pump out underground water. We later fire the coal inside with compressed air to produce the gas mixed with other particles,” said Engineer Abdul Manan Larik, who supervises work on block five of the coal field in Tharparkar.

“We have installed a gas purification plant to get rid of unnecessary particles including carbon and sulphur in order to produce pure gas that is linked with generators,” Larik said.

He said the government had earlier allocated Rs10 billion for this project to generate 100MW under the gasification pilot project, but due to financial constraints, there has been no tangible progress in the past five years.

“We have so far received Rs3 billion. We would have finished our task had funds been provided on time,” he said, adding there was no transmission line in the area and the government was going to earmark funds for it.

Mubarakmand was of the view that there was around 175 billion tons of coal reserves that have the potential to generate 5,000MW for at least 800 years.

“The same quality of coal is found in Austria where power is being generated through under-ground gasification. Pakistan is blessed with many natural resources, but there is a need for proper planning and implementation,” he said.

On the other hand, the provincial government in collaboration with Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company has started open-pit mining on block two in the same area. They have announced the setting up of two power plants with generation capacity of 330MW and 660MW by 2018.

Officials in the energy department said the entire exercise required an estimated $2 billion.

“Around $1 billion will be spent on the development of the coal-fired power plant and $0.9 billion on mining,” a senior official said.

While Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari conducted the ground-breaking of the power plant some time ago, the federal government has yet to issue the schedule to lay the transmission line to link the Thar coal power plant with the national grid.

“The Sindh chief minister sent a second reminder to the federal government and the National Transmission and Dispatch Company, asking for a schedule for the transmission line as 100MW is likely to be produced from the Thar plant by next year, but all in vain,” said a spokesperson for the Chief Minister House.
 
CM releases Rs120m to revamp pumping stations

KARACHI:
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has released Rs120 million to revamp five major pumping stations of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to ensure uninterrupted operations.


He made the announcement while presiding over a meeting of the water board at CM House on Saturday. “Water is life and I am committed to making it easier for the people of Karachi, which is why I had released Rs180 million to provide free-of-cost tankers to the water-starved areas of the city.”

KWSB managing director Hashim Raza Zaidi said that the funds were being utilised sagaciously. “You [CM] have released funds for 1,000 tankers daily but there is demand for only 700 tankers a day as water supply system has improved considerably.”
 


17,000 tractors on subsides rates have been provided to small farmers during current fiscal year

Sindh government is taking various steps to bring green revolution in the province.

Seventeen thousand tractors on subsides rates have also been provided to the small farmers during current financial year.

About two thousand tube-wells have been installed across the province to promote agriculture production in the province.

Similarly, over four thousand unemployed youths have also been trained in various agriculture fields.

Radio Pakistan
 
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Production imminent: Coal mining and power project on track, claims SECMC

HYDERABAD:
Some minor hiccups apart, Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) appears positive to complete the coal mining and power production projects on time after it recently got approved the power tariff.


The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) approved 8.57% upfront tariff for the SECMC’s Thar Coal Power Company two days ago, according to the company’s CEO Shamsuddin A Shaikh.

At a press briefing on Saturday, Shaikh said that the first power plant of 330 megawatts (MW) will start production from December 2017. Three more plants of similar capacity will follow after every six months till June 2019.

The company has planned to produce 3,960MW energy through four 330MW and four 660MW plants. The latter will contribute in the subsequent years.


According to the CEO, a sum of $900 million will be spent on the construction of the first two 330MW power plants while an equal outlay of $900 million is required for open pit mining.

Shaikh said the power tariff would be gradually decreased to 5% over a period of 20 years. At the same time the tariff of electricity produced from other resources will keep increasing from the present average of 10 to 12 %.

SECMC, whose 51% shares are owned by the Sindh government and 49% by Engro, inaugurated both the projects on January 31. Shaikh informed that one of the four Chinese engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor has been finalised for the mining work. However, he said the coal tariff is yet to be decided by Thar Coal Energy Board (TCEB). Similarly, for the power plant, three Chinese EPC contracts have been shortlisted.

For laying the transmission line, the matter is being pursued with the federal government’s National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC).

Shaikh said SECMC has prioritised employment for the local people. Up to 4,000 workers, including the managerial, technical and non-technical staff, will be employed when the company attains peak production. “We will ensure that all the non-technical staff is appointed from the local people.”

He informed that a new airport is being built in Islamkot tehsil of Tharparkar and he expects its inauguration by the end of this year. On the corporate social responsibility (CSR) side, the company is investing $20 million from its investment on education, health, livelihoods, skills development and promotion of local art, culture and handicraft programs. This is separate from 2% expenditure on CSR from the profit after tax.
 


4 million gallons/day desalination plant for Karachi to open before Ramazan, says Sharjeel Memon

KARACHI: Local Government Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has said arrangements have been made to install a desalination plant with a capacity to convert four million gallons daily (mgd) of seawater into potable water, which will reach Karachi before Ramazan.

A few more desalination plants will also be installed in the next three months with a capacity to convert 20mgd seawater into potable water which would further help meet water needs of the city.

Mr Memon, who was speaking at a press conference after returning from Dubai in his office at Clifton on Monday, said the Sindh government had made all preparations for holding local bodies elections on Sept 20 and had told the election commission to make arrangements for the polls.

He said during his visit to Dubai he had signed agreements with different companies for installing rental desalination plants to convert seawater into potable water. He said the 4mgd capacity water plant would be installed in Karachi before Ramazan while next month a memorandum of understanding would be signed for the installation of a plant with a capacity to convert 80mgd seawater into potable water. In addition to that, he said, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board had already started work on 65mgd and 100mgd water supply projects while on June 10 Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah would perform the groundbreaking of the K-IV water project.

In reply to a question, he said free water supply from 1,000 tankers daily continued in water scarcity areas in the city under the supervision of deputy commissioners. Likewise, the minister said, the government had initiated some projects in different districts for water supply through the public health engineering department, for which Rs700 million had been allocated in the current budget.

He said besides Tharparkar, where 700 RO plants were being installed and 350 had already been installed, similar plants were being installed in other districts, including Sanghar and Achro.

Mr Memon said the government had also started repairing roads and streetlights in Karachi and LED lights on all main arteries while an agreement had been signed with a private firm for the installation of surveillance cameras on vintage points which would help in curbing terrorism and street crimes in the city.

In reply to another question, he said arrangements made in the province would not be like the preparations made by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for the local bodies elections during which many people were killed and wounded. He said the polls in KP had exposed the hollow slogans of ‘new Pakistan and new Pakhtunkhwa’.

Replying to another question, the minister said Zulfikar Mirza was no more relevant in politics and it was futile to talk about him.

He said there was no truth in reports of having given water connections to Bahria Town projects.

4mgd desalination plant for Karachi to open before Ramazan, says Sharjeel Memon | Pakistan Peoples Party Official
 
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