A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production was held today under the chairmanship of Senator Khalida Ateeb where members reviewed the status of Pakistan Steel Mills and its financial woes.
PSM officials briefed the committee on the potential revival of the Steel Mills with a $1 billion investment, emphasizing that it could contribute significantly to the reduction of Pakistan’s steel import bill by $1 billion. The value of the Mills’ land was estimated at Rs. 35 million per acre, totaling over Rs. 1 trillion.
The financial woes of the Steel Mills were also underscored, Rs. 105 billion is owed to the federal government with an annual interest payment of Rs. 15 billion. The committee was briefed that the state-owned entity owes Rs. 43 billion to the National Bank and Rs. 23 billion to Sui Southern.
Also, 5,882 PSM employees have been laid off, adding to the challenges faced by this once-thriving industrial entity.
During the proceedings, Chairman Committee Senator Khalida Ateeb raised concerns over the non-payment of salaries to mosque clerics working in the Steel Mills premises for the past three months.
Secretary Industries Rashid Langrial said PSM employees were being paid by selling goods. A total of Rs. 2.5 billion is disbursed annually to employees, with PSM consuming 20 MW of electricity daily.
Senator Zeeshan Khanzada raised questions about the efficiency of utilizing 20 MW of electricity, suggesting it could support numerous industries nationwide.
The meeting also disclosed that 40 cases of theft have been investigated since 2019. The stolen items included a vehicle and even a railway track. Committee members questioned the cumulative value, which was suggested to be around Rs. 20 million.
