The scope of project is to discover new coal resources buried under alluvium in Badin and adjoining areas. It can help establish at least over a billion tonnes of measured category of coal resources which can support installation of two power generation plants each of 500 MW capacities. The total cost of the project is Rs 170 million. The government released Rs 153 million by June 30, 2018 and Rs 13.7 million in the current financial year.
The project investigations will result in proving of more than a billion tonnes of coal, valuing above Rs 1,000 billion. The data will be made available to the provincial government and private sector investors and will be of great help bridge the ever-increasing power requirement and generation gap.
The GSP also demanded Rs 10.5 million for financial year 2019-20 to prove the presence of coal, establish its grade and make a preliminary assessment of reserves through large-scale mapping, exploratory drilling and collection of representative samples for chemical analyses and petrographic studies in Nosham and Bahlol areas. The project investigations will result in proving of more than a 20 million tonnes of coal valuing above Rs 2,000 million regarding the present market rates. The data so collected will help plan a thermal power station in the region and supply coal to Pakistan steel and cement industry.