PCJCCI urges to use local coal for power generation

Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) called for the utilisation of local coal reserves of Pakistan instead of imported coal for power generation.

Pakistan should adopt a safe and balanced approach to exploit its vast coal reserve for power generation with minimum damage to the environment, so the country can overcome the energy shortfall without burdening the economy, it suggested.

PCJCCI President Moazzam Ghurki on Wednesday cited that coal was the most widely used cheap electricity producing source, which was currently generating 36 percent of the world's electricity.

During a think-tank session at the PCJCCI secretariat, he added that Pakistan has large reserves of coal, especially lignite coal which China has imported for $8 billion in 2021 from other countries instead of Pakistan due to the lack of technology and modern methods. The government of Pakistan should introduce modern technology to facilitate the miners with latest mechanisms, to work on the coal reserves.

PCJCCI Senior Vice President Fang Yulong shared his views by saying that Pakistan has large reserves of coal, especially lignite coal which China imported earlier. Pakistan has its coal deposits in Balochistan, Punjab and especially Sindh where Thar Desert having the 16th largest coal deposits. He highlighted that owing to global energy insecurity caused due to continuing war between Russia and Ukraine, many European nations have been compelled to revive their decades-old coal-based electricity plants to avoid energy shortages for their respective countries. PCJCCI Vice President Hamza Khalid said that total coal reserves discovered in Pakistan are 185 billion tonnes, but coal mining in Pakistan is facing a lot of issues due to a lack of upgraded equipment.