ZAHEER ABBASI
ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has, in principle, approved technical a Rs72.635 billion supplementary grant to Power Holding Private Limited (PHPL) for onward disbursements to respective banks or through financial instruments as and when due during the current financial year.
The government has agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to absorb PHPL into its budget, fully recognising the liabilities in PHPL as debt of the government and taking over the servicing of the loans contained in PHPL.
A meeting of the ECC, presided over by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Wednesday, also formed a committee headed by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms Dr Ishrat Hussain, with Dr Waqar Masood Khan, representatives of the Finance and Power divisions as members to prepare a proposal for the settlement of dues of the power sector and other related issues, in a holistic manner for onward submission to the ECC.
The ECC, in an earlier decision, had decided to shift the power sector debt stock of Rs804 billion to public debt.
As per debt repayment schedule agreed between PHPL and lending institutions, an amount of Rs72.635 billion was required to be paid partially during the fiscal year 2019-2020 and the remaining is payable in 2020-2021 as principal repayments to lenders.
Additionally, the loan amounting to Rs82 billion taken from the OGDCL and included in the total of Rs804 billion is required to be considered separately through non-cash/cash settlements.
The ECC allocated Rs10 billion from Stimulus Package for the payment of 1st installment of interest/profit for the period of 21-05-2020 to 20-11-2020 in respect of Pakistan Energy Sukuk-II (amounting to Rs200 billion).
The ECC has decided that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting may meet the additional funds for the payment of media campaigns launched on 5th August (Kashmir Siege Day) through re-appropriation from its budget allocated for the financial year 2021, and any shortfall due to re-appropriation of the funds would be met through a technical supplementary grant towards the end of the current financial year.
The Ministry of Energy has requested the ECC to give directions for the settlement of a loan of about Rs7.6 billion and its associated costs from the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) in relation to advance payment for Karkey Karandeniz Elektrik Uretim (KARKEY).
The ECC decided that the Finance Division should engage with the NBP for the settlement of the loan.
It was decided that a well-rounded proposal with all stakeholders on board would be presented before the ECC for the final approval.
The ECC approved the allocation of funds for implementation of the Interest-Free Loans (IFL) programme by the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund.
The BISP has surrendered funds amounting to Rs4.98 billion in favour of the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund during the financial year 2020-2021, which would be used for the purpose of the IFL programme.
The meeting was attended by the Minister for Food Security, Syed Fakhar Imam, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar, Adviser for Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Adviser to the PM on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Hussain, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Revenue Dr Waqar Masood Khan, and Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan. The SAPM on Petroleum Nadeem Babar and the Governor State Bank Syed Baqir Reza, participated through video link.
