Govt reconstitutes NTDC, ZTBL boards, declares PHA-F as strategic entity

The government restructured the board of the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC), appointing two consultants from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as independent directors. 

The Cabinet Committee made the decision on State-Owned Enterprises (CCOSOEs) during a recent meeting chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

The Power Division’s proposal for appointing new independent directors and a chairman for the NTDC board was approved by the committee. 

Among the appointees are Dr. Fiaz Ahmad Chaudhry, who has been named chairman. Dr. Chaudhry, with over 39 years of experience in electrical power engineering and consulting, was previously the managing director of NTDC and currently leads a consulting firm with offices in Canada and Pakistan. He is also associated with the USAID Power Sector Improvement Activity (PSIA) project.

Sheikh Imranul Haque, former managing director of Pakistan State Oil (PSO), and Ermeena Asad Malik, a senior consultant on energy policy with the World Bank Group, were also appointed to the NTDC board.

The CCOSOEs also reconstituted the board of Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) and appointed Ayesha Waqar, Dr Talat Naseer Pasha, and Sahibzada Rafat Raoof Ali as independent directors. The Prime Minister rejected one of the proposed candidates, Abul Barin Tareen.

The CCOSOEs is currently categorizing 41 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as either strategic and essential or non-essential, a process that will determine which entities will remain under government control and which will be privatized. 

The committee also discussed the future of the Pakistan Housing Authority – Foundation (PHA-F), with some members proposing a merger with House Building Finance Company, another entity involved in constructing housing for government employees. However, the decision was made to retain PHA-F as a strategic entity.