The Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) was informed on Friday of a recent successful due diligence visit of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSMC) by a team of China’s Baosteel Group.
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail chaired the inaugural meeting of CCoP. Privatization Commission (PC) Chairman presented the roadmap for the current privatization programme for reaffirmation by the newly constituted CCoP.
He presented the government’s plans for the revival of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSMC). The plan focuses on revival through significant foreign direct investment and technology transfer generating substantial employment opportunities for qualified workers.
The committee was apprised of a recent successful due diligence visit by a team of Baosteel, the world’s largest steel producer. Baosteel manufacturers 180 million tons of steel per annum and is one of four interested parties and plans to increase the capacity of PSMC to 3 million tonnes per annum.
The committee unanimously welcomed the prospect of PSMC revival, entailing commercial leasing of 1229 acres of land and jetty, and directed ministries of Industries & Production, Energy and Maritime to work with PC to remove all bottlenecks expeditiously.
The committee was apprised of the ongoing effort to recapitalize National Power Parks Management Company Private Limited (NPPMCL), the owner of two RLNG power plants in Balloki and Haveli Bahadur Shah.
Earlier, PC arranged bids of Rs. 102 billion from a local syndicate of banks for NPPMCL which will release government of Pakistan funding and is currently working actively with relevant ministries to fulfill conditions necessary for financial close.
CCoP decided to form a sub-committee comprising the Minister of Power, Chairman PC, Secretaries of Power, Petroleum and Privatisation, Additional Secretary Finance Division, and CEO NPPMCL for immediate resolution of bottlenecks.
Furthermore, PC Chairman tabled a summary on private sector participation in the management of DISCOs. The committee agreed that this is 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. The transfer of DISCOs to provinces was also deliberated.
The finance minister apprised the committee of foreign government interest in investing in Pakistan. CCoP deliberated the modalities for negotiated government-to-government (G2G) commercial transactions and decided that it is not the domain of the Privatisation Commission. The committee directed the Ministry of Finance to formulate the proposal for structured transactions in coordination with relevant ministries for consideration by the Cabinet.
The committee decided to reconvene and conduct a further review of the privatization programme which is a high priority under the current economic situation.
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Privatization Abid Hussain Bhayo, Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister of Interior Rana Sanaullah Khan, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Minister for Industries and Production Syed Murtaza Mahmud, Advisor to the PM on Establishment Ahad Cheema, Privatisation Commission Chairman Saleem Ahmad, federal secretaries, and senior officials of relevant ministries.
