Pakistan's coal to power India, too

KARACHI, Pakistan, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Pakistani leaders said their Thar coal project could be complete by 2011.

Syed Qaim Ali Shah, chief minister of Pakistan's southeastern Sindh province, told the Asia Pulse Data Source and local news organizations that the $11 billion project had attracted more than 150 investors from 32 countries.

The project, which aims to build enough coal-based power plants to generate 1,000 megawatts, will supply power to both Pakistan and India.

According to geological studies, Thar's coal reserves are spread out across 9,000 square kilometers (3,475 square miles), and it is estimated there is enough coal in the prospective mines to power all of India and Pakistan.

Thar's coal reserves are estimated to be the fifth largest in the world, and Shah claimed that the United States and Germany import coal from Thar.