Quaid-i-Azam Solar Power Limited to be privatised

Cabinet meeting agrees to establish Punjab Thermal Company Limited

LAHORE: The privatisation of the Quaid-i-Azam Solar Power Private Limited Company was approved during the Punjab Cabinet Committee meeting on Saturday.

The two-and-a-half hour long meeting was presided by Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif.  He approved the entire nine-point agenda which was presented before him. It included the establishment of the Punjab Thermal Company Limited to set up a 1,200 megawatt gas power project.

The cabinet committee also approved amendments to the Punjab Government Servants Housing Foundation Act 2004. The amendments were made in 12 schedules of the Provincial Motor Vehicle Ordinance 2016 and Weight and Measure International System Enforcement Rules. The committee gave approval to the Punjab Zakat and Usher Act 2016. It also approved presenting the Punjab Pension Fund Report before the provincial assembly.



The Punjab chief minister also formed a standing cabinet committee to monitor all aspects of the privatisation. He said transparency had been ensured at every step of the execution phase. He added the project earned more than Rs2 billion in profits since its inception. “Therefore, the government will get more profit by privatising it,” he added.

He stated the privatisation would be made public knowledge and the bidding process would be open to the media. The cabinet also approved the mechanism of privatisation for the company.

The chief minister said that the government’s job was to provide a business-friendly environment to industries and setting up power generation projects was an example of that.

The privatisation of the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Private Limited Company was discussed for one-and-a-half hours. Ministers and advisers gave their suggestions regarding the privatisation. Shehbaz said that whole process of privatisation would be broadcast through media cameras. He said the government would work with honestly to ensure that future generations took pride in the administration’s decisions.

Expressing their views, cabinet ministers said it was a historic meeting in which all those present unanimously approved the privatisation. The minister added that the transparency of all projects launched and completed under Shehbaz Sharif was unprecedented. They said the privatisation process would also be transparent like all other projects.

The CM, they added, had started the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park when nobody was taking interest in investment in the related sector. They agreed that the project had opened the door to investment and a new world has dawned on the deserts of Bahawalpur.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2017.