ECC backs topping PIA’s guarantee limit by Rs10.5b

Also approves disbursement of one month’s salary to Steel Mills employees

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Wednesday approved enhancing the guarantee limit for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by Rs10.5 billion to meet the immediate financial needs of the national flag carrier.

In a meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar at the Prime Minister’s Office, the ECC considered and approved the Aviation Division’s proposal to increase the government’s guarantee limit for the national air carrier from Rs151 billion to Rs161.5 billion.



The ECC also decided to form a committee to finalise a business plan for improving the financial and operational performance of the PIA on a sustainable basis in coordination with the PIA management.

This committee will be chaired by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and comprise Privatisation Commission Chairman Mohammad Zubair, PM’s Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar Khan, the EAD’s Secretary Tariq Bajwa, and the PIA’s Acting Chairman Irfan Elahi.

The ECC also approved the disbursement of salaries for the month of October 2016 to the employees of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM). The ministry of industries had suggested to the Privatisation Commission to seek the ECC’s approval for release of the PSM’s employees’ three-month salary of from Oct to Dec 2016.

The ministry had also suggested releasing the PSM employees’ salaries on a monthly basis after clearing the backlog of three months. However, the ECC approved disbursement of one-month salary amounting to Rs380 million.



The Privatisation Commission pointed out that the PSM had not been working since June 2015 because of reduced gas supply from Sui Southern Gas Company. Since the mills had exhausted its finished inventory and was not allowed to sell unfinished stocks, it had no funds to bear salary expenses.

The ECC also considered and approved the proposal by Ministry of National Food Security and Research for the extension of the time period for the export of surplus wheat and wheat products, from Dec 31, 2016 to March 15, 2017. In view of the availability of surplus wheat stocks, the ECC also allowed export of additional quantity of 400,000 tons of wheat and wheat products by Punjab and Sindh governments.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2017.