Tharparkar: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday rejected claims that Pakistan’s system had failed, arguing that development in Tharparkar demonstrated the effectiveness of the Constitution and provincial autonomy.
Speaking at a ceremony to inaugurate Phase III of the Thar Coal Project’s Block II, Bilawal credited improvements in infrastructure, healthcare and education to the existing system and the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
The amendment expanded provincial authority over several areas of governance, including health and education.
Criticising calls for new provinces and claims of institutional failure, he said: “Hand Islamabad over to the people of Tharparkar; they will fix it.”
Bilawal also praised the project’s public private partnership model, under which government and private companies work together to develop and operate projects.
He said Thar supplied 14 percent of electricity to the national grid and claimed the coal project was saving Pakistan up to USD 1.6 billion in foreign exchange. He added that 94 percent of the project’s employees belonged to Sindh, including 60 percent from Thar.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said Phase III would increase the mine’s annual production capacity from 7.6 million tonnes to 11.2 million tonnes, an expansion of 3.6 million tonnes.
He said the additional supply would enable Lucky Electric’s 660 megawatt power plant to operate on Thar coal.
Shah projected annual electricity generation cost savings of approximately Rs15 billion and additional foreign exchange savings of USD 220 million. Foreign exchange savings arise when locally sourced fuel replaces imports paid for in foreign currency.
The chief minister said the expansion was being financed entirely from the project’s own resources. He also said it would pave the way for Thar Rail, a proposed transport link intended to make the region’s coal accessible across Pakistan.
