LAHORE: The federal government has agreed to provide electricity to the textile and other zero-rated industries at the rate of 7.5 cents/kWh (which is approximately Rs11.58 as of today) all-inclusive and gas at $6.5/mmBTU till June 2020.
Sources told Pakistan Today that the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) also managed to persuade the government to take back all additional surcharges and add-ons over and above the concessionary rate till June.
According to a press statement issued by the Finance Division, the government also agreed to provide Rs20 billion total subsidy for power and petroleum in the form of cross subsidy and/or allocation, in the next budget. However, sources in APTMA said that they had not yet agreed to the government’s recommendation.
Prime Minister Imran Khan was scheduled to meet the textile sector and address the issues faced by the export-oriented sector, however the premier could not attend Wednesday’s meeting. Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razzak Dawood chaired the meeting in his place. Economic Affairs Minister Hammad Azhar, PM’s Adviser on Petroleum Nadeem Babar, Federal Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan and Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar were also present.
The APTMA delegation was led by Gohar Ijaz and comprised APTMA Chairman Dr Amanullah Kassim Machariya, APTMA Punjab Chairman Adil Bashir, APTMA Punjab’s Treasurer Kamran Arshad, APTMA’s Executive Director Shahid Sattar and other leading textile millers and office-bearers of the association.
After the three-hour-long meeting, Hammad Azhar tweeted: “We have reached an agreement with all stakeholders of the textile exporting sector that addresses their concerns and also ensures that no additional financial burden is borne by the power and finance division for current and next financial year combined. Details to follow tomorrow.”
