Pakistan to push Chinese utilities in Pakistan to switch to domestic coal

22/7/2024 13:02

        Pakistan this month will ask Chinese power plants operating in the country to shift to using coal from Pakistan's Thar region rather than imported coal, the power minister said on Sunday.
        
        Islamabad may also begin talks on re-profiling Pakistan's energy sector debt during the visit to Beijing, Awais Leghari, head of the energy ministry's Power Division, told Reuters.
        
        Leghari will be part of the delegation to discuss structural reforms to the power sector suggested by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which last week agreed on a $7 billion bailout for the heavily indebted South Asian nation.
        
        Neighbouring China has set up over $20 billion worth of energy projects in Pakistan.
        
        "One of the key purposes of going along is the conversion of our imported coal units to the local coal. That would have a huge impact on the cost of energy, of power in the near future. So that is one of the biggest (items on the) agenda," Leghari said in an interview.