HYDERABAD, Oct 05 (APP):Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday said the remarkable development of Tharparkar was a clear example of the benefits of devolution of powers and public-private partnership (PPP). According to a statement, he expressed these views while addressing the inauguration ceremony of Pakistan’s first coal drying unit at Thar Coal Block-I and during his visit to Thar Coal Block-II. Sindh chief minister Syed Murad …
Bilawal inaugurates Thar coal drying unit, urges adoption of successful development model across country
HYDERABAD, Oct 05 (APP):Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday said the remarkable development of Tharparkar was a clear example of the benefits of devolution of powers and public-private partnership (PPP).
According to a statement, he expressed these views while addressing the inauguration ceremony of Pakistan’s first coal drying unit at Thar Coal Block-I and during his visit to Thar Coal Block-II. Sindh chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, provincial ministers, parliamentarians, local government representatives, party office bearers and workers, and local elders also attended events.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the transformation he had witnessed in Thar with his own eyes was rarely seen in other parts of the country. He said Tharparkar had made significant progress not only in infrastructure, health and education but in every sector.
“Today, the whole of Pakistan can see how far Thar has come,” he said, adding that Tharparkar was a prominent example of the success of Pakistan’s system, the 1973 constitution and the 18th constitutional amendment.
He stressed that the successful development model of Thar should be replicated in other parts of the country. The PPP chairman said power generation under public-private partnership in Thar had increased from 600 megawatts to 2,000 megawatts. He said Thar was supplying around 14 percent of electricity to the national grid and generating it at a lower cost.
He said the use of Thar coal was also helping save the country’s valuable foreign exchange. According to him, the use of local coal was saving Pakistan around $1.6 billion in foreign exchange.
Bilawal appreciated the educational achievements of students from Thar and said children from the area were achieving outstanding results in important examinations across the country. He said a student from Thar had also secured a notable position in an examination held in China, which was a matter of pride for Pakistan.
He said the strong performance of Thar students in examinations including MDCAT showed that children from remote areas could demonstrate their full potential if provided with proper opportunities and facilities.
Talking about employment opportunities created by the Thar coal project, Bilawal said 94 percent of its employees belonged to Sindh, while 60 percent were from Tharparkar district.
He stressed that the same model of public-private partnership and devolution of powers should be promoted across Pakistan if it had proved successful in bringing development and prosperity to Thar.
Bilawal said that when he was foreign minister, he had brought the prime minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif to Thar regarding the second phase of the project. The prime minister had then stressed the need to enhance Thar’s production capacity, following which significant expansion was carried out and further increase was planned in the future.
He said work was also underway on projects for fertilizer production and coal gasification to make maximum use of Thar’s resources.
Referring to the global shortage of fertilizer and its impact, the PPP chairman urged the relevant institutions to expedite the project for producing fertilizer from Thar coal so that it could be completed, inaugurated and brought into production at the earliest.
He said the Thar experience had demonstrated that major development goals could be achieved by combining local resources, modern technology, private-sector participation and effective government policies.
Bilawal also invited the business community to invest in Sindh, saying that the development opportunities created in Thar through public-private partnership could also be promoted in Karachi and other parts of the province.
He said the Sindh government had several projects at the planning and implementation stages. He added that a proposal was also under consideration to establish a Sindh Investment Zone in Karachi under public-private partnership on the pattern of the DIFC, to create business opportunities and build the confidence of the global business community.
He said a port project at Keti Bandar in Thatta was also being considered under public-private partnership.
Bilawal invited the business community from across Pakistan to invest in Sindh, saying the provincial government was working on various projects and opportunities under public-private partnership that would create new opportunities for the private sector, strengthen the national economy and generate employment for youth.
Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited Thar Coal Block-I and inaugurated Pakistan’s first coal drying unit. He later visited the Thar Foundation Hospital and Thar Coal Block-II.
During his visit to Thar Coal Block-II, he was briefed on the third phase of expansion of the coal mine. He also visited various stalls and met students, women employees and local workers.
He also inspected a 100-acre agricultural research area, where he was briefed on a project to grow fodder crops using saline water.
