Huge coal reserve discovered in Thar

In a major development, massive three billion tonne coal deposits were discovered in Sindh's Thar, the Sindh government announced on Monday. The discovery was made during the exploitation at Thar Coal Field Block 1.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, while expressing his pleasure over the ‘good news’, said in a statement that they used to say that Thar will change the fortunes of Pakistan and that slogan is now becoming a reality.

"After digging 145 metres in Block 1 this morning, coal was discovered. It is the second such major achievement of the Sindh government," he added.

CM Sindh said that the discovered reserves were equivalent to five billion barrels of crude oil.

Meanwhile, Provincial Minister for Energy Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh, while congratulating the nation, said that the annual production of coal will be 9 billion tonnes in the first phase.

He said that the discovery will help Pakistan tackle its energy needs, adding that it will benefit the national treasury by billions of dollars.

The minister also conveyed good wishes for the Pakistani team and Chinese experts working on the project.