Moazzam Ghurki, President of Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI), called for the utilisation of local coal reserves of Pakistan on Wednesday at PCJCCI Secretariat. He cited that coal is the most widely used cheap electricity-producing source, which is currently generating 36 percent of the world’s electricity.

During a think-tank session here at PCJCCI secretariat, he added that Pakistan has large reserves of coal specially lignite coal which China has imported for US $ 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.

Fang Yulong, Senior Vice President PCJCCI shared his views by saying that Pakistan has large reserves of coal specially lignite coal which China has imported earlier. Pakistan has its coal deposits in Balochistan, Punjab and especially Sindh, where the 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.

Hamza Khalid, Vice President PCJCCI said that the total coal reserves discovered in Pakistan are 185 billion tons but coal mining in Pakistan is facing many issues due to a lack of up-gradation of equipments. The old methods of mining cause numerous deaths cases due to suffocation and blasts. He added that coal reserves in Thar could go a long way to make Pakistan an energy-surplus country with least reliance on imported fuel for power production.

Salahuddin Hanif, Secretary General PCJCCI said that Pakistan could adopt a safe and balanced approach to exploit its vast coal reserve for power generation with the least environmental damage to overcome energy shortfall without burdening the economy.