Cabinet approves giving Roosevelt Hotel on lease

PM sets up committee to cut electricity use in govt offices by 30pc

ISLAMABAD:

The federal cabinet on Wednesday approved the decisions taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP) to hire a firm for giving Roosevelt Hotel in New York on lease.

The Express Tribune had reported that the committee in its meeting held on Monday had asked the privatisation commission to appoint a financial adviser for leasing the hotel site.

The government is stated to be considering a joint venture for a prospective mixed-use development of the site, which Pakistan owns. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had chaired the CCoP meeting.

The lease issue of Roosevelt Hotel was among the agenda items of the CCoP meeting.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the authorities concerned to set up a committee tasked with making a plan to reduce electricity consumption in government offices by 30 per cent.

The committee will comprise the Federal Minister for Energy, Federal Minister for Planning, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Resources and relevant secretaries.

The prime minister gave the direction while chairing the federal cabinet meeting.

The meeting was told that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation have also prepared an awareness campaign about energy saving and austerity.

The federal cabinet discussed the ‘Proposed Energy Saving Plan’ presented by the Power Division. The meeting was briefed on the consultation conducted so far with the stakeholders regarding the energy saving plan.

The meeting was given a detailed briefing by the Ministry of Industries and Production regarding the generalization of the use of electric bikes across the country.

It was highlighted that currently 90 companies were manufacturing motorcycles and auto rickshaws in the country with a capacity to manufacture six million motorcycles annually.

It was informed that 22 companies had been issued licenses to manufacture electric bikes in Pakistan.

The Prime Minister issued instructions to submit a detailed plan regarding electric bikes to the Economic Coordination Committee.

The federal cabinet gave final approval to the report of the Cabinet Committee on Soybean.

The federal cabinet approved the Government-to-Government Commercial Transaction Act 2022 (G2G Commercial Transaction Act 2022).

On the recommendation of the Board of Investments, the Federal Cabinet approved in principle the One Stop Service Act to provide facilities to investors in Special Economic Zones established across the country.

On the recommendation of the Petroleum Division, the Federal Cabinet declared Taj Field (Mirpur Khas Block) for commercial status, covering an area of 14.11 square kilometers on commercial basis and to M/s United Energy Pakistan Limited (UEPL) of this block for five years.

The federal cabinet approved the decisions taken in the meetings of the Economic Coordination Committee held on 21.12.2022 and 15.11.2022.

(With additional input from APP)