World Bank expresses interest to develop projects in Sindh

Islamabad: The World Bank has expressed its desire to help federal and provincial government develop Thar coal and other mineral resources in Sindh, official sources said.

Aslam Sanjrani, Managing Director, Thar Coal and Energy Board (TCEB), met with Yusupha Crookes, Country Director for Pakistan, at the World Bank office on August 29, 2008 Said Al Habsy, Operations Advisor and Rashid Aziz, Senior Energy Specialist of the bank's Islamabad office, also attended the meeting. The sources said Sanjrani provided an overview of the status of activities of TCEB and its plans for the immediate future. He also elaborated on TCEB's needs for establishing the institution and building up the capacity of its staff and officials.

Sanjrani also dealt with the needs of the Minerals and Mining Department of Sindh government, as a separate entity, the sources added. The sources said, Yusupha Crookes stated that the bank was interested in helping the government federal and provincial levels and TCEB to develop Thar and other mineral resources of Sindh.

The bank's support will be driven by three primary considerations: (i) enabling the Sindh government to promote (through TCEB) the Thar coal deposits to potential investors; (ii) assisting Sindh government in overall development of the mining sector; and (iii) strengthening the institutional capacity of the concerned provincial government ministries, departments and entities/agencies.

After discussion, it was decided that the bank's task force will interact with the provincial government and TCEB to develop a programme through a technical assistance project of the bank support for Sindh and TCEB.

The technical assistance requirements are initially expected to be for: (a) strengthening the capacity of the concerned government ministries including, to the extent required, at the federal level, departments and specific agencies such as TCEB; (b) advisory services for establishing and strengthening TCEB; and (c) for technical, financial and legal advisors to carry out the required reviews, studies and analyses and assist the government.

The federal government had withdrawn its notification for establishment of Thar Coal Authority (TCA), approved by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani due to continuous resistance of Sindh government; and on July 22, the provincial government issued two notifications to establish Thar Coal and Energy Board (TCEB) and enhance the strength of the board members, setting aside the notification of the federal government.

'We accept that coal exploration is the right of the respective province, but power generation is a Federal subject,' said one of the officials of the Ministry of Water and Power. The ministry, which had earlier made an effort to establish the authority's office in the PPIB, is of the view that the principal seat of the board would be in Karachi.