29 Nov 2017

The Coal Development Unit is in operation and all the vacancies have now been filled, the Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security, Advocate Sadique Kebonang, has said.

Responding to a question in Parliament from Specially Elected MP, Ms Bogolo Kenewendo, Advocate Kebonang said in line with the ministry’s restructuring and refocusing, the unit had now been designated, the Project Development and Implementation Unit.

Its mandate, he said included development and facilitation of projects which fell under the options identified under the Coal Road Map ‘for purposes of accelerating the monetisation of our huge coal resources, estimated at 211 billion tonnes.’

The ministry’s coal sector development strategy, he said was based on a Coal Road Map Options Study that was formulated in 2011, which identified three options as having the most potential for coal monetization, being; Domestic Power Generation, Export Power Generation and Coal Export.

“While there is one project that has gone through all the stages exploration to financing preparation and is now at a stage where it can go into operation, there is currently no project that is actually under development,” said Advocate Kebonang. 

Ms Kenewendo had asked Advocate Kebonang to give an update on the status of the Coal Development Unit and whether his ministry had a coal sector development strategy. BOPA