Pakistan’s Prime Minister orders coal import from Afghanistan

Afghan Voice Agency(AVA)_Presiding over a meeting, Shehbaz Sharif has approved the import of high-quality coal from Afghanistan in rupees instead of dollars to save the country’s precious foreign exchange.

“This will not only generate cheap electricity but also help save the country’s precious foreign exchange,” was quoted by the Prime Minister Office as saying.

Shehbaz Sharif has ordered improvement in the transportation of coal to be imported from Afghanistan. He has also directed the Ministry of Railways to take all necessary measures to ensure prompt delivery of the imported coal to power plants, DAWN news agency reported.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister was informed that the import of coal initially required for Sahiwal and Hub power plants from Afghanistan would save over $2.2 billion annually in the import bill.

Expressing concern over the rising price of coal in the international market, the prime minister termed it the main reason for the costly power generation from coal-based power plants in the country.