Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) working on Pakistan’s first ever Thar based 660MW Lignite coal Power plant states that the project is 5 months ahead of schedule and will be operational by early 2019. Engro Power Thar Limited (EPTL) connected its power plant with national grid to receive back-feed power supply for plant startup on August 1, 2018. EPTL and SECMC are the largest private investment under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
PM Imran khan will visit the plant early next year. Shamsuddin Shaikh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) SECMS has stated that the power project is 94% complete while the mine project is 92% complete. 154 meter of soil has already been removed for the coal mine. The Extraction of coal will start from 160 meter.
Power plant is expected to be 20 to 25 years therefore the huge coal resources should not only be used for power production and it should also be used for diesel and gas production. An Estimate suggests that the total reserves of Thar block II are sufficient to support 5000MW of energy for 50 years; enough to pull the country out of the energy crisis.
