Several Pakistani and Chinese officials were recently involved in a discussion pertaining to the possibility of including the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) in CPEC’s (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) infrastructural development framework, a news source reported. This proposal was floated during the 9th meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) held in Islamabad on November 6.
As per reports, the losses and debts of the PSM have amounted to a total of PKR 510 billion. The PSM chairman recently stated that the institution’s board and management were determined to revive the entity with the help of the federal government.
Further, they would work towards restoring its production capacity to the original 1.1 million tons during the first phase. During the second phase, the production capacity will be expanded to 3.3 million tons.
The government plans on reviving the entity either through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model managed through Privatisation Commission or by making direct investments in the project. If PSM is made part of the CPEC initiative, its operations will no longer be managed by Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA).
Meanwhile, the Stakeholders Group has offered the government its services for providing consultation on the revival plan for PSM. The group’s management believes they it will be able to provide best proposals for bringing the mill to full operationalisation capacity.
