Islamabad: Director General FWO Major General Abdul Samad, along with his team, met Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi to review construction progress on the Thar Coal Railway Connectivity Project and measures for its timely completion.
The project includes construction of a 105-kilometre new railway line from Thar Coal Mines to New Chhor, linking indigenous Thar coal with Pakistan’s existing railway network. A further approximately 9-kilometre double-track section from Bin Qasim to Port Qasim, together with coal-unloading facilities, is also part of the wider connectivity scheme.
The Sindh government reported in January 2026 that the overall project was valued at around Rs90 billion, with financing shared 50:50 between the Sindh and federal governments. Sindh had already released Rs6.61 billion as its share at that stage.
The railway connection is intended to enable faster and lower-cost movement of locally mined coal to power and industrial users, potentially reducing reliance on imported coal and strengthening Pakistan’s energy logistics.
