Islamabad: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) will have an urgent meeting to discuss the fuel offtake commitments by two mega power plants using Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), according to a news source. The aim is to facilitate their privatisation, which has been stipulated under the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) programme for Pakistan.
The agenda of this meeting is to remove the compulsory condition which calls for 66% utilisation of LNG by these plants. The Ministry of Power has proposed that such ‘take-or-pay’ stipulation should be absolved. However, other state enterprises including the Pakistan State Oil (PSO), the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), and the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) have opposed this move. These agencies have stated that they are under international obligations to import LNG, hence its utilisation is a natural result.
The Power Division recently submitted a report to the ECC, which stated that the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) had approved the complete divestment of two LNG power plants; using a hybrid option for transaction structure. The ECC will review these projects and decide accordingly, keeping all factors and stakeholders in mind.
