The government of Pakistan has agreed to release PKR 900 million for the pilot project to generate 100 MW of electricity through gasification of underground coal in the Thar Desert. This is a steep increade on the funds previously set aside, only PKR 5 million in the 2011 to 2012 Budget for the project.
If the government ensures that no barriers to disbursement of the funding then tenders for the plant will be floated by December 2011 with first firing scheduled for 2013. International companies from Australia and UK have indicated that they will be ready to invest in Thar coal power generation if the pilot succeeds.
