In a first of its kind, the maiden import terminal, exclusively dedicated to coal imports, at the Port Qasim in Pakistan is put to commercial operations—a move seen as an initiative to streamline coal imports into that country ahead of several new power plants going on-stream.
Port Qasim is located around 50 KM from Karachi, and handles more than 40% of seaborne cargo in Pakistan.
Nevertheless, coal is a vital energy source in that country. Domestically, around 3.5 MnT of coal is produced in Pakistan on an annual basis, and the production is inadequate to cater to the entire demand. To meet the surplus demand, 4-5 MnT of coal is imported every year to meet the consumption of various sectors, like steel, cement and power generation.
Afghanistan, Australia, Canada Indonesia South Africa and USA are the prime regions of coal import in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, 19 coalfields have been discovered so far, and geological investigations revealed that around 186 BnT of coal reserve exist in that country.
Coal demand is on a rising mode in Pakistan as that government is stressing heavily upon improving the power supply infrastructure there. That government has targeted raising the power generating capacity by 13,207 MW by 2018, out of the targeted capacity, coal-based plants account for 3,960 MW.
Source: CoalMint Research
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