Representational image. PHOTO: REUTERS
He was speaking during a meeting with a seven-member delegation of the Privatisation Commission of Pakistan, led by Federal Minister for Privatisation Muhammad Mian Soomro, at the CM House.
Soomro said that the federal cabinet had finalised some projects, banks and real estate assets for privatisation. He added that since those projects were national assets, he wanted to take provincial governments in confidence with regard to their privatisation.
The federal minister explained that the projects for which bids had been invited included two RLNG-based power plants at Haveli Bahadur Shah and Balloki, respectively. Each plant has the capacity to generate 1,230MW of electricity, he informed the meeting, adding that the other projects being considered for privatisation were SME Bank Ltd and the First Women Bank.
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Shah responded that the power tariff of both the power plants must be protected so that the private party could not charge excessive rates for power generation after privatisation. He emphasised that the commission should also protect the jobs and rights of the employees working there.
Meanwhile, regarding the privatisation of the banks, the chief minister repeated his request to protect the rights and employment of those working there. He also insisted that the privatisation process be carried out transparently.
Soomro also informed the meeting that the cabinet had approved the privatisation of real estate assets such as Services International Hotel Lahore and Jinnah Convention Centre Islamabad. The commission's delegation comprised Khurram Shahzad, Rabial Akhundzad, Samreen Zehra, Asad Rasool, Zayed Maud and others.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 11th, 2020.
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