News

Global firms to review IPP deals

With mounting criticism of the independent power producers (IPPs), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a task force for engaging international firms to review agreements with the IPPs and suggest measures to slash capacity payments. At present, electricity consumers are paying over Rs2.2 trillion in capacity charges to even those IPPs which are shut and not producing a single unit of elect

EnVen resumes production after $50m overhaul

Pakistan's largest fertiliser manufacturing plant, Engro's EnVen, has resumed production after a 55-day turnaround costing $50 million, coinciding with the ongoing wheat sowing season. The plant, with an installed production capacity of 1.3 million tonnes, returns to operation, but this will not offset the expensive import of urea as the government has approved importing 100,000 tonnes to maintain

Govt rightsizing drive starts with IT ministry

he government has decided to shut down and privatise certain institutions attached to the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication as part of its federal rightsizing programme. Sources report that the Ministry of Information Technology has issued directions to this effect. Previously, there were discussions about closing the IT ministry entirely, but telecom companies opposed this

$2b investment deal with Maersk on cards

Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh has announced that he will leave for Denmark this month to sign an MoU with Maersk, a renowned European shipping giant, which intends to invest $2 billion. "Maersk will start investing from October 2024 in numerous areas including infrastructure, terminals, warehousing, shipbreaking, etc, which will make Karachi a transshipment hub," he

Govt defers NBP privatisation

The government, on Monday, deferred a decision on the privatisation of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) due to a legal obstacle. This move contradicts an earlier commitment made to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to remove the special status of seven government-owned firms, including the NBP. Last month, Pakistan assured the IMF that it would withdraw the special status of these seven