Sindh pushes processing industries in Thar coal and mineral drive

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Wednesday that his government wants investors to go beyond extracting raw minerals and set up processing and manufacturing industries inside the province, according to a report in Daily Times. He was speaking at a meeting at the Chief Minister's House that reviewed Sindh's coal and non-coal reserves, running mining projects and the province's pitch to domestic and foreign investors.

Mines and Minerals Minister Syed Sardar Shah briefed the meeting on the reserves, current operations and the provincial strategy for mineral development. The Thar coalfield was given as holding 175 billion tonnes of reserves, with an estimated energy equivalent of 50 billion tonnes of oil equivalent and coal-related gas-equivalent resources of 2,000 trillion cubic feet.

The meeting reviewed the two Thar coal mining and power projects built under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor early harvest programme. Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company, a public-private venture, mines 11.2 million tonnes a year and generates 1,980 megawatts. The Sindh government holds 54.7 per cent of the company, Engro and its associates 45.3 per cent, and the province has put in Rs 12.9 billion in equity. Sino-Sindh Resources Limited, set up by Chinese investors, mines 7.8 million tonnes a year and generates 1,320 megawatts, on private investment of more than $2.6 billion. Officials said the project also saves foreign exchange by substituting imported coal.

On non-coal minerals, the minister listed granite deposits at Nagarparkar in Tharparkar for dimension stone and polishing industries, and iron ore in Thatta, Jamshoro and Tharparkar for steel-related use. Marble is found in Thatta and Jamshoro, while limestone across Khairpur, Dadu, Jamshoro, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Thatta and Karachi can feed cement and construction. The province also holds celestite in Jamshoro, china clay in Tharparkar, silica sand in Jamshoro and Thatta, and lake salt in Dadu, Sanghar and Tharparkar.

On employment, the briefing said Block-I has generated about 5,000 jobs, with roughly 97 per cent of the workforce from Sindh, and more than 20,000 direct local jobs were reported over project development and implementation. Facilities listed include a 250-bed hospital in Islamkot, reverse osmosis plants and technical training for local youth. Block-II employs about 2,350 local people through SECMC operations, 94 per cent of them from Sindh and 60 per cent from Thar, with seven medical facilities and 33 reverse osmosis plants. More than 1.3 million trees have been planted under the Thar Million Tree Programme, alongside water treatment and reuse, bio-saline agriculture and land rehabilitation.

The meeting also reviewed supporting infrastructure, including road connectivity, water supply and the proposed Thar Rail Connectivity Project, a joint venture of the federal and Sindh governments meant to move Thar coal to industries across the country. Officials raised coal briquetting and coal-to-urea production as alternative uses, and said 12 blocks have been developed after detailed drilling, with geological data available to investors.

Murad Ali Shah said mining must comply with environmental standards and occupational health and safety rules, and must protect communities in mineral-rich areas with proper resettlement arrangements.