CM Sindh inaugurates Thar Foundation, says city 'part of my soul'

KARACHI: Sindh's chief minister said Friday he wished to help "bring [Thar] and its residents out of the darkness", referring to a power plant, the inauguration of which he was attending.

While addressing the audience at the Thar Foundation's launch event, Murad Ali Shah, the chief minister of Sindh, noted that the city was "part of my soul".

"(Former prime minister) Benazir Bhutto and my father commenced work on this project together," Shah said, adding that setting up the Thar coal plant was his leader's dream.

Qaim Ali Shah, Sindh's former chief minister, also vowed to work in Thar, the incumbent one stated, adding that the provincial government tried to offer the tender to international bidders but no one stepped forward.

"Investors do not want to put their money in Thar," he said.

"The Sindh government [then] set up its own company and through it, partnered with a private venture."

Shah commented on how, as the work started on the project, consequent to former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf's decision to provide an immediate guarantee, road infrastructure was developed in Thar.

"The Sindh government poured funds into the company it had set up" in order to finance the town's development, he said, noting that almost $1 billion has been spent on the project to date.

"We started work on Thar coal with complete determination. We wish to bring the area and its resident out of the darkness."