KESC to get Rs75m per day subsidy

Ministry of petroleum told to craft new gas load management plan.

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet on Thursday approved payment of a Rs75m per day subsidy to KESC for the smooth supply of electricity to Karachi consumers till the resumption of gas supply from the Zamzama gas field.

“Because of suspension of gas supply, the company has started producing electricity with furnace oil which has increased the production cost,” Additional Secretary Finance Rana Arshad Amin told reporters after the meeting.

The ECC, however, rejected the gas load management programme prepared by the ministry of petroleum and natural resources four years ago and advised it to work out a new one within three days. The new programme will be implemented from November 15.

The ECC meeting, presided over by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, also set up a high-level committee to investigate causes of sugar price rise. The ministry official said that Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) is selling the sweetener at Rs56 per kg in the open market but it is being sold at Rs90-95 per kg “which is quite unjustified”.

He said the committee in collaboration with the provinces would find out the reasons and submit a report to the ECC in  its next meeting.

The ECC rejected a summary seeking import of 1,000 to 1,300 cc cars (five-year-old or more) because the ministry of trade had raised objections on it and advised the ministry of industries and production to prepare a new summary by working with the ministry of trade.

The official told a questioner that the ministry of trade had pointed out that the ministry of industries did not have the authority to present the summary as its mandate was confined to deletion programme for cars, while the import and export of cars was the job of the ministry of trade.

The committee decided that Ogra will revise the prices of E10 Ethanol fuel every six months.

Replying to a question he said the ECC has lifted a bar on the TCP to bring 50,000 tons of sugar every 10 days and now the corporation will be free to bring any amount of sugar it deemed fit into the market.

The committee approved the construction of Export Processing Authority Zone (EPZ) Tower in Karachi.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2010.