Balochistan to have its own university of minerals, natural resources

A university is being established in Balochistan specifically for minerals and natural resources to provide quality higher education and skilled manpower in the field.

The building named the ‘Umer Khan Sanjrani Minerals and Natural Resources University’ will be constructed in the Nok Kundi, Chaghi area on 500 acres of land at an estimated cost of six billion rupees.

A consultant has been hired for the feasibility study of the construction work which will be completed within the next couple of weeks, for which the review report will be submitted to the concerned authorities.

A final report regarding the initiation of the construction work will be completed by 5th March 2021. Moreover, a new public sector company will be established in the province to accelerate the activities for the exploration of Balochistan’s minerals.

“The new entity titled ‘Balochistan Mineral Exploration Company Limited (BMEC)’ will be a joint venture of the federal and Balochistan governments, with 10 percent and 90 percent shares respectively.

This year, the federal government had allocated Rs20 million in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP 2020-21) for geological mapping of the 50 Toposheets, out of 354 unmapped Toposheets of Balochistan.