Caretaker Federal Minister for Finance Dr Shamshad Akhtar presided over a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet today.
The Aviation Division submitted a proposal for the provision of financial support to Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL) through the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for certain emergent needs of the airline.
After detailed discussion and deliberation, the committee decided to approve the proposal of the Aviation Division for bridge financing through CAA’s resources amounting to Rs. 8 billion for PIA to meet emergent requirements related to overdue payments. The ECC allowed the Aviation Division to proceed with the bilateral arrangement between the CAA and PIA.
The meeting was attended by the Caretaker Minister for Privatization Fawad Hassan Fawad, Caretaker Minister for Planning and Development Sami Saeed, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Aviation Air Marshal Farhat Hussain Khan, Federal Secretaries, and other senior officers from relevant ministries.
A day earlier, Pakistan State Oil (PSO) urged PIA to clear its pending dues for the resumption of uninterrupted fuel supply adding that the decision to limit fuel supply is not taken lightly and is a result of PIA’s continuous disregard for their financial commitments which have now accumulated to an alarming Rs. 26.8 billion.
It is pertinent to mention here that the national flag carrier has canceled over 300 flights in the last 10 days due to the unavailability of fuel.
