KARACHI: Sindh Energy Minister Murad Ali Shah, responding to questions raised by legislators during the question hour, has said that several experts including nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan have doubts over the coal-fired power generation technology that is being used in the Thar coalfield under the supervision of Dr Samar Mubarrakmand.
Sindh Assembly session was chaired by Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani. Responding to a question raised by MQM’s Naheed Begum regarding doubts expressed by Dr AQ Khan over the use of coal-based technology, the minister said that he was aware of the doubts and concerns expressed by some experts.
He said that he was not technically qualified to comment on the issue as both Dr AQ Khan and Dr Samar were top nuclear scientists. He said that it was a federal government project and Islamabad would be in a better position to comment on it.
The minister said that it was probably because of such doubts and concerns that the and now a pilot project to generate eight to 10 megawatts was being implemented at a cost of around Rs8.9 billion, out of which over Rs2.1 billion was spent till November 2014, which is expected to be completed by September 2016.