LAHORE: A bourse filing Wednesday by Jahangir Siddiqui and Co (Ltd) disclosed it has been pre-qualified by the Punjab Privatization Board (PPB) for acquisition of 100 percent stake in Quaid-e Azam Solar Power (Pvt.) Ltd.
The Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power project is owned by Government of Punjab and is a $100 million project based in Bahawalpur, Punjab. Jahangir Siddiqui and Co said this is a privatization transaction, the notification read.
Notification didn’t detail the financial details of this acquisition. The company said the transaction is subject to internal and relevant regulatory approval, the notification read.
In June, Punjab government had outlined plans to sell Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Plant and intended to privatize the project, which needed approval of the provincial cabinet.
Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power (Pvt.) Limited is a public-sector for ‘profit company established by the Government of the Punjab. The company has been established for the setting up of renewable energy projects in general and Solar Energy Power projects.
The provincial government had invested Rs3.8b in this project against which it has earned Rs1.4b since it began operations in 2015 and sold 360 million units of electricity.
This project helped kickstart all the future solar power ventures in both the private and public sector. It was among the pet projects of the Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, for which he had assigned 6,500 acres of land near Cholistan, Bahawalpur to establish a 1,000 MW solar park. It is a clean source of energy and environment friendly, which can provide electricity to 100,000 homes a year.
At the time of filing this report, Jahangir Siddiqui’s shares were trading at Rs15.90, down Rs0.10 at mid-day. KSE-100 index was 37,876.51 points, down 42.91 points at mid-day.
