Islamabad: The federal government on Thursday assured the investors interested in the country’s RLNG-based power plants of implementing the required power reforms, a news source reported. As per the details revealed, these reforms specifically pertain to the issues of future debt financing and project timeline extensions.
A meeting of the Privatisation Commission revealed that the privatisation of the power plants of Haveli Bahadur Shah and Baloki attracted unprecedented interest from investors. Officials concerned said that 12 out of the 23 investors have qualified for the bidding of the projects. They added that these investors belong to South East Asia, Europe, Middle East, Japan, and Pakistan.
The meeting discussed the issues related to the privatisation of the two RLNG projects. These included problems associated with independent power projects, reduction of circular debt, tariff matters, reduction in costs, improved power efficiency, raising financing and its cost, and the ongoing energy plan.
Sources concerned have revealed that recent developments in the power sector, especially issues like debt and equity, have disturbed investors. They added that these issues have affected the valuation of assets and investor interest. They said that investors have also sought clarification from the government on various matters in light of the overall economic situation of the country.
On the other hand, investors have also asked for a timeline extension as they could not visit project sites due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions. They explained that securing financing from lending institutions would also take time due to the pandemic situation.
