ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet meeting, under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, has approved five different proposals relating to the energy sector.
The meeting considered the execution of North South Gas Pipeline Project under government to government agreement with Russia and approved it. The ECC also constituted a Price Negotiation Committee, comprising Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources (P&NR), Secretary Law, Secretary BoI, Representative of Finance Division, MD SNGPL and MD ISGS, to negotiate the project details and pricing with the Russian side.
Approving the proposal of re-structuring the Gwadar-Nawabshah LNG Terminal and Pipeline Project, it directed the P&NR to complete all the formalities, and to ensure that the revised strategy did not result in any cost escalation.
It was further decided in the meeting that the secretary P&NR would head the Price Negotiation Committee, while Secretary Law, Secretary BoI, representative of Finance Division, MD SNGPL and MD ISGS shall be its members.
The participants had a detailed discussion on the proposal, submitted by the Ministry of Water & Power, and approved issuance of Sovereign Guarantee by the Ministry of Finance with respect to syndicated term finance facility, amounting to Rs 25 billion for the power sector. The proposal given by P& NR regarding LPG Air Mixture Projects also came up for discussion at the meeting.
The meeting decided that in view of CCI approval of LPG Policy 2016, any further approval from ECC was not required in the matter, and now it was up to OGRA to implement the approved policy in letter and spirit. Agreeing with the suggestion of Ministry of Water & Power, the committee also okayed the non-cash settlement of Rs 70.167 billion in respect of power sector payables/receivables among different government entities.
