To increase Pakistan's coal production by 20 percent, the country's Coal Sub-Group has proposed that focus must be made on the improvement of underground transportation of coal and construction of roads from coal bearing zone to the market, sources told Daily Times on Saturday.
The Coal Sub-Group emphasised on greater exploitation of the indigenous energy resources, which was an important strategy in Energy Security Action Plan, which envisaged the share of coal from the 6 percent to 19 percent in 2019, the sources maintained.
The group was of the view that the provincial governments were unable to provide the requisite assistance to the private coal miners to overcome the difficulties.
The sources said that in January 2007, Energy Logistic Committee (ELC) was constituted under the chairmanship of the secretary Petroleum and Natural Resources and the ELC constituted three sup-groups on coal, gas and oil, headed by respective director generals.
In order to achieve the objectives of the ELC, the Coal Sub-Group proposed that focus must be made on the improvement of underground transportation of coal and construction of road from coal bearing zone to the market through an umbrella PC-I.
The Coal-Sub Group had submitted its detailed report proposing to provide technical know-how to the private mine owners to make the transportation system efficient both underground and surface components and to increase the production by 20 percent in order to achieve the targets specified in the Energy Security Action Plan
The impediments hampering transportation system were the lack of technical and financial capacity of small mine owners to develop infrastructure and mechanisation of mines to make the transportation system efficient and manual underground transportation and non-availability of road.
The sources claimed that total estimated coal resources of Pakistan were more than 185 billion tonnes. The present net demand of coal in the country was about 10.1 million tonnes out of which 4.1 million tonnes were produced locally and 6 million tonnes were imported.
About 90 percent of coal mines were operated by small mine owners and average annual production remains at 4.1 million tonnes, out of which more than 90 percent was consumed in the brick kilns industry. The share of coal in the overall energy mix during the last five decades declined from 68 percent in 1948 to 10.1 percent in 2009.
Average share of Pakistan Railways in the transportation of coal was about 30 percent and the remaining imported and indigenous coal was transported through roads. The sources claimed that the coal was intensively used in power generation, as an industrial fuel, brick kilns, cement, coal briquettes, coal gasification and underground coal gasification.
Under the umbrella project the objectives would be completed in five years time starting from 2009-10. The implementation of the scheme would in turn augment coal production by 15-20 percent annually.
For preparation PC-I provinces and special areas were requested to provide their requirements for construction of roads from mine to market in the coal bearing zones in their area. In response the governments of Balochistan and Sindh have conveyed their proposals however rest of the federating units have not sent their proposals despite repeated reminders.
Source: Daily Times, Pakistan
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