$5bn investment mobilized for exploration: Ahsan

NAVEED BUTT

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform, Ahsan Iqbal has said that $ 5 billion investment has been mobilized for exploration of Thar coal and it has capacity to generate 50,000 megawatts of electricity for four hundred years.

He expressed these view while addressing at function regarding launch of 16 SDG innovation challenges here at the Pakistan Planning and Management Institute (PPMI) on Thursday. He said that the economic and security situation of the country is now better as compared to that of 2013.

He said that Thar coal is a precious asset which values more than the cumulative energy reservoirs of Saudi Arabia and Iran. He said that loans taken from China for infrastructure development under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project are concessional in nature.

Iqbal said, “We need to recognize a new emerging face of Pakistan for economic development. Thar coal power project is the first coal power project in the area which will become operational by the end of the following year.” In the view of the project, the people of Thar will have many opportunities for their prosperity, he added.

He said that there is a need of political and economic stability in the country, adding that ‘a military might’ of any country was considered to be guarantee of its stability and security in the past. But in contemporary times it is a stable economy and education which can guarantee stability and security of any country, he pointed out.

Iqbal said that the government is determined to establish one university in every district in two years. He further said that the completion of development work at Gwadar Port will make the country a hub of regional trade.

Replying to a question after the function, the minister said that 15000 megawatts electricity would be added to the national grid under the CPEC till 2025.