HYDERABAD: Senior Sindh Minister Sharjeel Memon and Sindh Energy Minister Nasir Shah have called for scaling up production of coal-based electricity in the country and maximising extraction of Thar coal through massive mining in order to reduce dependence on imported coal.

They dismissed objections to use of coal in power generation and said that European countries including Germany were returning to coal fired power plants.

The ministers were speaking at a concluding ceremony of a property and home décor exhibition at a mall here on Saturday.

Sharjeel Memon said in answer to journalists` questions that currently coal was being imported. `We need to maximise use of Thar coal in power generation in the country to avoid burden of imported coal,` he said.

He called for increasing mining in Thar coalfield by capacity enhancement. `It will eventually help bring down electricity cost and the additional coal can also be exported,` he said.

He said that federal government was also focusing on coalbased electricity on priority basis.

When asked that fossil fuel based electricity was being phased out the world over but he was calling for maximizing it, Memon replied that on the contrary European countries had given up coal based energy option but they were now returning to it. PPP`s Sindh government had invested $1bn in infrastructure development in Thar coal production, provided water supply and built road network, he said.

`Currently, mining is going on in Thar coal on limited scale which we should increase substantially,` he remarked and said that if the federal government raised investment in the Thar coal then 1m tonnes of coal could be extracted to feed national grid for cheaper electricity.

Syed Nasir Shah said that investors were not welcomed and the issue of sovereign guarantees was not properly addressed in the past despite the fact that Thar`s coalcould help ensure lowest tariff of electricity.

He said that Sindh government was talking about hybrid renewal energy through a combination of solar and wind power projects. `Germany is reverting to coal based electricity production,` he said.

He said that Chinese were investing in coal fired plants. `We have to see what suits us [more for producing] cheaper electricity,` he said.

Memon said that electricity cost was becoming unbearable equally for the poor and the rich that was why Sindh government was providing support for solar energy to 200,000 households free of cost.

He said that more routes of Peoples` Bus Service would be opened in Hyderabad. Businesses needed to be promoted to end unemployment. Local manufacturing should be backed along with construction industry to create jobs, he said.

He promised Sindh government`s support for construction industry and said that there was untapped talent in every sector. If business activities were revived it would increase investors` trust, he said.

He said that Sindh government was building 2.1m houses for flood affected people. Rs3OO,000 were given directly to each individual to build his/her house, he said.

He said that Sindh government was contributingRs5bn to building infrastructure in Sindh and recounted services of Z.A. Bhutto for the country.

He lauded achievement of Benazir Bhutto, who introduced missile technology, and established First Women`s Bank.

President Asif Zardari abolished Article 58(2)(B) clause as president and played a pivotal role in introducing the 18th Amendment and renaming NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said.