Govt gives go-ahead to revival of PSM

ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) on Friday gave go-ahead to the government’s plan for the revival of Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC) with the help of a Chinese steelmaker and directed the relevant ministries to help remove bottlenecks expeditiously.

The Chairman Privatisation Commission (PC) presented the roadmap for the current privatisation programme for reaffirmation by the newly constituted CCoP that met for the first time under the chair of Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail.

The plan focuses on revival through significant foreign direct investment and technology transfer generating significant employment opportunities for qualified workers.

The PC officials updated the committee on the recent successful due diligence visit by a team of BaoSteel, the world’s largest steel producer.

BaoSteel manufactures 180 million tonnes of steel per annum and is one of four interested parties and plans to increase the capacity of PSMC to 3mtpa.

The CCoP also considered a summary for private sector participation in the management of 10 Power Distribution Companies (DISCOs) but finally decided to write to provinces to take control of DISCOs in their respective areas.

The CCoP was apprised of the ongoing effort to recapitalize NPPMCL, the owner of two RLNG power plants in Balloki and Haveli Bahadur Shah.

Earlier, the PC arranged bids of Rs102 billion from a local syndicate of banks for NPPMCL, which would release government funding and was currently working actively with relevant ministries to fulfil conditions precedent necessary for financial close.

The CCoP decided to form a sub-committee comprising Minister of Power, Chairman PC, Secretaries of Power, Petroleum and Privatisation, Additional Secretary Finance Division, and CEO NPPMCL for immediate resolution of bottlenecks.

Furthermore, Chairman PC tabled a summary on private sector participation in the management of DISCOs.

The CCoP said it was a critical area of focus and directed PC to take one DISCO at a time to pursue a concessional arrangement focused on enhancing their financial viability and service quality. Additionally, the transfer of DISCOs to provinces was also deliberated.

The finance minister informed the CCoP about the foreign governments’ interest in investing in Pakistan.

The CCoP deliberated the modalities for negotiated Government to Government (G2G) commercial transactions and decided that it was not the domain of Privatisation Commission.

The CCoP directed the Ministry of Finance to formulate the proposal for structured transactions in coordination with relevant ministries for consideration of the Cabinet.

The CCoP decided to reconvene and conduct further review of the privatisation programme, which was a high priority given the current economic situation.