Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has summoned a session of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) to discuss a two-point agenda today.
According to local media reports, the committee is likely to approve payments of German company’s dues against Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) as well as approving the provision of communication support to Ehsaas programme.
Earlier, in its previous meeting on February 8, the ECC of the Cabinet had approved a proposed payment mechanism under which Rs161 billion would be released for 46 IPPs.
The energy secretary had briefed the ECC about the detailed report submitted by the Implementation Committee regarding the conversion of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) into agreements with IPPs to devise a payment mechanism for clearance of outstanding dues.
According to payment mechanism, a payment of Rs403 billion would be made to the IPPs in two installments; first will be 40pc of said payables — to be paid 1/3rd in cash, 1/3rd in Sukuk and 1/3rd in PIB Bonds at a floating rate of T-Bills+ 70 bps, while the remaining 60pc amount would be paid within six months of the first installment.
Besides this, the ECC meeting had also approved a supplementary grant of Rs350 million to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), which would be used for placing cameras at the sugar mills in order to monitor their activities.
