The Senate Standing Committee on Planning Development and Special Initiatives has recommended Rs. 40 billion for the construction of a railway link from Islamkot to Chor to provide a railway link to carry cheap indigenous Thar Coal to the power plants running on coal in the entire country.
The parliamentary panel met with Senator Atta ur Rehman in the chair to finalize recommendations of members on the Finance (Amendment) Bill, 2023 relating to the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP).
The meeting was attended by Senator Taj Haider, Senator Tahir Bizenjo, and Senator Kauda Babar. The committee took serious notice of the absence of senior officers from the Ministry of Planning and decided to take the matter up in the House.
Members deliberated over the recommendations made by Senator Taj Haider which included the construction of a railway link from Islamkot to Chor to provide a railway link to carry cheap indigenous Thar Coal to the power plants running on coal.
Haider informed the committee that coal is being imported at $400 per ton, however, the locally produced coal would cost $35 per ton. He further said that financing of the project with the federal government providing 30 percent equity is very much feasible from the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank. This would reduce the financing burden on the federal government to a mere Rs. 12 billion.
Another recommendation made by the Senator was to repair the Reverse Osmosis Plant lying dormant for more than eight years to supply water to Gwadar. A federal government grant of Rs. 100 million would be sufficient for the project.
A grant of Rs 20 million was also recommended for two 20,000 GPD RO Plants at Somiani and Ormara. It was recommended as per the Special Committee of the Senate on CPEC to construct a natural gas pipeline connecting Tajikistan Gas Pipeline with Gilgit city, crucial to preserve forests and glaciers. An allocation of Rs. 100 million was recommended for the feasibility study of the project.
The development of Six Solar Parks was also recommended in Turbat, Gwadar, Pasni, Gahkuch, Gilgit, and Skardu for which an allocation of $30 million was suggested.
Senator Babar said that a Business Plan worth Rs. 25 billion was approved for the Gwadar port in 2004, however, less than 50 percent was released during the last around 19 years.
