Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that the pact between the ministry of railways and the Sindh government to link Thar coal mine reserves with the railways' system will ensure efficient transportation and generate inexpensive power.

Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony he said through an expansion of an efficient railway network supply from the coalmines would be ensured to the coal-fired power plants and other related plants like cement manufacturing units.

It would save billions of rupees spent annually on the import of costly coal to meet the requirements of the energy sector, he said.

He laid stress on unity to cope with challenges confronting the country.

He said the federal and Sindh governments came together and expressed the hope that it would be implemented by March 2023, enabling the transportation of coal to all parts of the country.

The prime minister, terming the project as a harbinger of the economic revolution, said such development ventures were pursued during the tenures of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari.

“If it was pursued by the past government, Pakistan would not have faced such difficulties at the internal and external fronts,” he said.

“If the previous government had promoted unity among the provinces and the federal government, there would be a change.

However, he added it was never too late to mend and mentioned that the signing of the MoU was a testament to a living nation and stressed that they needed to move above their personal likes and dislikes and serve the country.

He said that Thar reserves were a treasure for the country and according to an estimate, these were capable of producing millions of MW power for the next 300 years.

Minister for Railways Saad Rafique, on the occasion, said that it was a historic day as the MoU would pave way for Thar coal link connectivity.

He said that it was encouraging that the federal government and the provincial government agreed to participate and generate funds for the project despite the current difficulties.

The minister said Thar coal reserves were among the world’s ranking and would meet the country’s requirements.  

He said that a 105km green link connecting the coal mines with Port Qasim, Jamshoro power plant and other power plants would save billions of dollars.

He further assured that they would strive to complete the project at the earliest, adding that its initial cost was estimated at Rs55 billion, but they would work on cost-cutting.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the Thar coal project was started during the 90s by Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s government and then revived by the PPP provincial government.

He said Thar coal reserves were a future and precious energy source for Pakistan. He assured that the provincial government fully owned this project and it would produce lowcost power than anything else. Earlier, the Sindh chief minister and minister for railways signed the documents in the presence of the prime minister and other federal ministers.