Pakistan Economy - News & Updates - Archive

[Neo]

$1bn ADB loan sought to develop major cities​

KARACHI, June 15: Sindh Senior Minister of Health and Coordination Syed Sardar Ahmad announced in his budget speech on Friday that the government was negotiating $1 billion fresh loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to undertake major development activity in Karachi and six other cities of Sindh, namely Sanghar, Badin, Dadu, Mithi/Islamkot, Khairpur and Naushero Feroze.

Ironically, the minister’s announcement of negotiating a fresh foreign loan from ADB came after he complained in the budget speech of “tremendous increase in external and domestic debt and current liabilities of the government over the years.”

Total amount of all liabilities on Sindh now comes to more than Rs122 billion, according to the figures given by Syed Sardar Ahmad, which include Rs71.34 billion foreign debt, while Rs63.79 billion loans were under grace period of repayment.

Then there is a liability of Rs24.64 billion to the federal government on account of cash development loans that carry interest rates of 17 and 18 per cent and mode of repayment is such that very small amount of the principal loan is adjusted.

Moreover, there exist deferred public liabilities worth Rs26.17 billion, accrued since 1970 on account of general provident fund contributions of the public servants. These funds, he said, have been used by the successive governments to finance development expenditure.

But he justified the government negotiations with ADB for $1 billion (Rs60 billion) loan on the ground that infrastructure and social human development in Sindh has lagged behind other provinces.

“To facilitate modern management, and to provide needed infrastructure and services in this province, which is backbone of Pakistan’s economy, the government has sought assistance from ADB for Mega Development Project and Secondary Cities Programme,” he stressed.

The senior minister also spoke of the initiatives and prudent measures taken to create new funds for meeting future liabilities and informed the Sindh Assembly that by next year a sum of Rs25 billion would have been successfully set aside from public exchequer and invested appropriately on account of public liability and social responsibility.

Recounting all such initiatives he said that Rs7.79 billion cash development loans were retired prematurely in the current fiscal year, which is saving Rs5.57 billion on interest payment.

A total amount of Rs15.58 billion loans were retired since 2002-03, which saved Rs15.93 billion on interest payment.

The Sindh government has created a general provident investment fund with annual seed money of Rs2 billion and annual supplements of net receipts of GP fund.

The senior minister disclosed that deposits in Sindh Pension Fund and Social Relief Fund will exceed Rs23 billion next year.

“This is a remarkable achievement, especially in comparison with the performance of previous governments in 1990s when Sindh was surviving on State Bank’s overdraft,” Syed Sardar Ahmad remarked.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/06/16/ebr2.htm

 

[Neo]

Sindh’s GDP estimated at Rs240 billion​

KARACHI, June 15: The Sindh’s GDP has been estimated at $40 billion by the Sindh Senior Minister, Syed Sardar Ahmad, in his budget speech who called it the second largest economy of Pakistan.

At this estimate of $40 billion (Rs240 billion), Sindh’s economy is roughly a little more than 27 per cent of the national economy and has apparently slipped down from 33 to 34 per cent of the national economy during the decades of the 60s, 70s and even during a part of the 80s. The federal ministers put national economy at $146 billion (Rs8,760 billion) in 2007 and hope to push it up further by seven per cent plus during 2007-08.

But the senior minister in his speech did not elaborate further on Sindh’s regional domestic production to inform public of the contribution of various components of the economy indicating that the $40 billion estimate was a mere guesstimate rather than the result of a serious exercise. There is not a word on industrial growth, agricultural production, services sector, mining, fisheries, livestock, schools, hospitals, enrollment of children, particularly of girls in schools.

A day earlier, the Punjab chief minister had informed public that Punjab’s GDP was 53 per cent of Pakistan’s economy and that it showed a growth of eight per cent plus during 2006-07.

By implication, the Punjab chief minister made it known to all that economic growth of his province was well above the national average growth of seven per cent. It means that the three other provinces are far behind in development and Punjab is the growth engine of Pakistan’s economy.

By this estimation, (Punjab’s share of 53 per cent and Sindh’s 27 per cent), the share of the other two provinces, Balochistan and NWFP, comes to a mere 20 per cent. There is no study to show how much is the share of each of the two provinces — Balochistan and NWFP — in 20 per cent.

Punjab has developed a mechanism of monitoring GDP indicators with the assistance of World Bank and has found that quite a good size of Sindh’s services sector shifted to Lahore. Services sector in Punjab was estimated at 53 per cent of its total economy in 2005. Investment and industrial growth in Punjab has been crawling up in Punjab since the 1977 takeover by General Ziaul Haq. Agricultural growth in Punjab has been steady than in Sindh because of better availability of water.

The World Bank too carried out a study on Sindh’s economy after the 2002 elections and formation of a coalition government in Karachi.

The findings of the World Bank team in more than two years’ exercise was not well taken by the political leadership and bureaucrats of Sindh.

Well-placed sources in Sindh explained that the World Bank and other international donors wanted to offer loans and credits, and the Sindh government showed some reluctance to accept this offer, and in the bargain earned ire of World Bank and international donors.

Way back in the decade of 80s, efforts were made in Sindh to set up a Sindh Regional Plan Organisation. It carried out many studies on districts that found economic disparities increasing between the rural areas and the urban areas of the province. The then President, General Ziaul Haq, did not conceal his anger on all such studies which project the deprivations and sufferings of rural people of Sindh.

A leading economist who taught at Karachi University, served a caretaker government as a minister and now is working with a UN agency told a group of newsmen in Karachi that Ziaul Haq’s government officially forbid him to work on monitoring Sindh GDP indicators.

But recent reports suggest that the Sindh government is developing a system to monitor regional GDP of the province with the help of independent economists. Dr Kaiser Bengali’s doctorate detestation is on estimation of Sindh’s economy. He is said to be giving some help to the Sindh government.

Sources in the Sindh government say that the government may consider issuing a provincial Economic Survey every year with budget documents in the future.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/06/16/ebr3.htm

 

[Neo]

Pakistan-Iran bilateral trade potential high: Iranian diplomat​

The current bilateral trade regime between Pakistan and Iran is in no way near the potential, a senior Iranian diplomat has said, urging Pakistani traders not to limit themselves only to rice.

Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mr. Masoud Mohammad Zamani, asked Pakistani exporters to introduce other products, required by the Iranian consumers.

He made the remarks while talking to Majyd Aziz, President and members of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) during his visit to the Chamber, a press statement of the chambers said.

"There are ample prospects for the Pakistani exporters and one vital and crucial way is to organize frequent single-country exhibitions not only in Tehran but also in Mashhad and other cities," Azami said. He was accompanied by Mr. Ghulam Raza Tajiki, Commercial Counselor.

The Iranian diplomat said the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline would soon be a reality as this is the crucial need of all three countries for their development.

He that the IPI pipeline would bring immediate benefits for the three countries and would boost the economy in many respects.

He said that there is a major problem in controlling the undocumented travels at the Pak-Iran border since it is over 1000 miles long. He was of the opinion that efforts to control this menace would soon pay dividends.

Zamani complimented KCCI on the unprecedented success of 'My Karachi Exhibition' held recently and lamented the fact that Iranian companies could not participate in this event.

He pledged that in the My Karachi 2008 Exhibition, Iran would be in the forefront in participation.

Earlier, Majyd Aziz while welcoming the Iranian diplomats briefed them on the functions of the Chamber and highlighted its achievements.

He acknowledged the fact that Pakistani exporters have not been able to take maximum advantage of the Iran market and hoped that the KCCI would undertake one single-country exhibition in November during the tenure of his successor.

He added that the Iran Consulate General has been very cooperative in facilitating the travel requirements of businessmen as well as religious pilgrims.

He also welcomed the offer of the consul general to have a strong Iranian participation in the next Karachi Exhibition.

http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-237/0706169217164636.htm

 

[Neo]

Saudi-Kuwaiti Group invests nearly $2.5 billion in Pakistan ​

Saudi Press Agency - 16/06/2007

(MENAFN - Saudi Press Agency) A Saudi-Kuwaiti Group, Midroc Tussonia (Pvt.) Limited, has initiated to invest $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion in Power, Oil and Gas and Real Estate sectors of Pakistan over a period of next five to seven years, according to an official statement.

Sheikh Humoud Al-Sabah, President of the group, gave this information to Minister for Privatization and Investment Zahid Hamid in a meeting with him.

Hamid assured the delegation of full assistance in the completion of their projects, which were at an advanced stage.

http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093156523

 

[Neo]

Rs 114.50 billion tax-free NWFP budget unveiled: Rs 5.5 billion deficit to be bridged by World Bank aid ​

PESHAWAR (June 17 2007): The government of NWFP on Saturday unveiled Rs 114.507 billion tax-free budget for financial year 2007-08 against total receipts of Rs 109.01 billion, showing a deficit of Rs 5.489 billion. The Minister for Finance, Shah Raz Khan, presented the budget in the provincial assembly. Speaker Bakht Jehan Khan was in the chair.

The minister said that the deficit would be covered by an assistance of Rs 7.8 billion pledged by the World Bank. He said that like last four years the government has once again divided the budget into three categories--of welfare, developmental, and administration. The welfare budget comprises Rs 40.2 billion, developmental budget would have Rs 39.5 billion, and administrative budget would have Rs 14.8 billion.

The province would receive Rs 47.63 billion from divisible pool, Rs 5.8 billion under the head of share in general sales tax (GST), Rs 6.00 billion profit on hydel generation, Rs 3 billion in royalty on gas and oil, and a financial assistance of Rs 6.2 billion from the federal government. The province would have to generate Rs 6.2 billion from its own resources, he said.

Total current expenditure for the year is estimated at Rs 61 billion with provincial expenditure of Rs 32.8 billion, and district expenditures of Rs 28.2 billion.

The volume of the development programme of the province would be Rs 39.4 billion, including Rs 21.9 billion of the annual development programme (ADP), Rs 1.2 billion annual district development programme, Rs 8.3 billion special programme, and Rs 8.00 billion foreign assistance schemes. The estimated welfare budget of Rs 46.2 billion shows an increase by 9 percent from the outgoing financial year. Rs 1.8 billion has been allocated for education, registering 99 percent increase while an amount of Rs 2.7 billion has been allocated for health, which is Rs 0.2 billion more than the current financial year.

The shares of other sectors include agriculture Rs 509 million, irrigation & power Rs 1.5 billion) social security Rs 303 million, and environmental protection Rs 433 million.

The administrative budget has been divided into three heads--police, general administration, and prisons. Police would get Rs 5.14 billion (114 percent more than the current financial year), general administration Rs 650 million, and prisons affairs Rs 321 million.

The estimated annual development programme would get Rs 39.4 billion, showing an increase of Rs 13 billion from the current financial year; Rs 4.84 billion has been sanctioned for education, Rs 3.64 billion for health and Rs 1.24 billion for Tameer-i-Sarhad Programme.

An amount of Rs 71.47 million has been kept for development of social welfare and women development, Rs 3.96 for highways, Rs 1.34 for irrigation, Rs 322 for agriculture, Rs 538 million for industries & mineral development, Rs 3.1 billion for rural development, Rs 255 million for tourism, sports, culture and archaeology, Rs 30 million for minorities affairs, Rs 160 million for urban development, Rs 704 million for construction and houses, Rs 910 million for water supply and sanitation, Rs 392 for establishment of small power stations, Rs 316 million for development of environment and Rs 100 million for development of science and information technology in the province.

The provincial government, the finance minister said, has also decided upon 15 percent increase in the salaries of government employees, while the pensions of government employees would be increased by 15 to 20 percent. On this increase, the provincial government has to bear an extra expense of Rs 2.5 billion. Under the development budget of education sector, the minister said, the provincial government includes female education in its top priority.

The development programme of the sector comprises construction of new girls primary schools, launching of female education in backward districts, granting of Rs 200 per month scholarships for increasing number of girls students, and Rs 1000 monthly special allowance for teachers.

The government has also prepared a model project for provision of buses for girls in the provincial metropolis. The new development schemes include establishment of new primary, middle and high schools, upgradation, repairs of school buildings, providing basic facilities like computer labs, furniture and teaching instruments.

The provincial government would provide free textbooks to both boys and girls from Nursery to Intermediate levels of education. The government would also arrange education of information technology at Intermediate level. This year, the government has sanctioned Rs 4.84 billion for 142 schemes in education sector, the minister said.

In the health sector, Rs 3.64 billion has been earmarked for 134 projects, which include the opening of blood transfusion units in seven district headquarters'' hospitals besides completion of district headquarters hospitals in Bannu, Shangla and Chitral.

In industrial sector, Rs 538 billion has sanctioned for 42 development schemes. The second phase of expansion of the Industrial Estate at Peshawar would be launched during the year, while work on establishment of small industrial estate would be completed in Charsadda.

Similarly, beside the establishment of marble products, training centre in Mardan would start work on opening of handicrafts and sewing centres in Kohat and Charsadda. For promotion of technical education, vocational centers would be established and polytechnic institutes would be upgraded to the level of College of Technology.

In mineral sector, the government would expedite work on standard of mapping and information dissemination projects to help increase revenue in the sector. The government would also give priority to the welfare and protection of labourers, besides extending technical skill and education of 19,600 boys and girls in the province.

The government has also announced 32 percent subsidy on electricity bill of agricultural tube-wells. Of this, the federal government would bear 12 percent and the provincial government would bear 20 percent share.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=578733&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

Mega projects to help develop Balochistan: Prime Minister ​

ISLAMABAD (June 17 2007): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday said a series of mega and small development projects launched by the government will bring gradual improvement in Balochistan. Talking to a delegation from Balochistan led by Hafiz Hussain Ahmad at the Parliament House.

The Prime Minister said the government is working for equitable growth in the country and it is particularly focussing on the less developed areas of the country to bring them at par with more developed regions.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, President PML, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Secretary General PML, and Muhammad Ali Durrain Minister for Information and Broadcasting were also present at the meeting. The Prime minister said the government has undertaken unprecedented development work to make up for past neglect of Balochistan by the successive governments.

He said micro-development schemes have also been launched all over the province to transfer the benefits of high economic growth to the masses. People have benefited directly from Rs 100 million allocated to each district in Balochistan, he said.

The Prime Minister said the government is focusing on providing better facilities of gas, electricity, health, drinking water and education to the people of Balochistan. The Prime Minister said the government is focusing on providing employment opportunities to the youth of Balochistan and their quota in federal jobs has been increased from 3.5 to 5 percent.

The government has also initiated training programmes in various technical fields to enable them to take maximum benefit from the jobs created for them, he said. The Prime Minister said the Gwadar deep sea port would serve as a trade corridor for the region and the industrial zones which will be set up around it will provide innumerable opportunities to the people of the province.

The members of the delegation discussed with the Prime Minister development issues of their areas particularly Chagai, Noshki and Aghbarg. The Prime Minister assured them of government's help and said that all requests for development work will be evaluated on merit.

Hafiz Hussain Ahmad and members of the delegation invited the Prime Minister to visit their constituencies, which he accepted. The delegation thanked the government for co-ordinating with Saudi government to establish a hospital in Dalbandin that has started providing treatment to the people. The members of the delegation thanked the Prime Minister for accepting their invitation to visit Balochistan.

The members of the delegation included Senator Dr Ismail Bulidi, Manzoor Ahmed Mengal, Moulvi Aziz ullah, Sardar Rasool Khan Mengal and Moulvi Abdul Hayee.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=578805&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

Poverty reduction: 'Pakistan can benefit from Chinese expertise' ​

BEIJING (June 17 2007): Pakistan can get benefit from the experience of China for poverty reduction, said one of the Pakistan delegates attended here a seminar on poverty alleviation. The two-week seminar on "Poverty policy and practice" was hosted by International Poverty Reduction Centre in China for the member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc).

Deputy Secretary (Economic Reform Unit), Moinuddin Ahmad Wani along with Assistant Chief of Economic Affairs Division Ghulam Muhammad Mahar; Additional Secretary, Planning and Development Department, Balochistan Sohail Qadeer Siddiqui; Deputy Secretary (Investment), Finance Division, Iqbal Ahmed and Research Analyst Economic Affairs Division Zulfiqar Ali Shaikh represented Pakistan.

The seminar attended by officials from Saarc countries was concluded on Friday. Wani said the participants were briefed on China's social and economic development policies and its experience and achievements in poverty reduction. He said China did a great job by taking various steps to help reduce poverty, this including introduction of reforms especially in agriculture, social development as well as in human resources.

He said that during a field visit to Chongqing Municipality in Southwest China, they were informed that to encourage growers, the State had provided agriculture loans amounting to 70 percent of the total amount, while 30 percent was shared by the farmers.

He said that this step encouraged the growers to bring maximum area under cultivation. Wani said that during the 15-day workshop, seminar, talks and discussions were held on a number of areas of poverty reduction in which strategies Asian countries can adopt to cope with regional economic integration, and methods of managing and supervising poverty reduction funds also reviewed threadbare.

The seminar on Poverty Policy and Practice for South Asian Countries reflected the Chinese governments' commitment to enhance co-operation with south Asian nations on poverty reduction. Deputy Secretary Wani pointed out that Pakistan could benefit a lot from these steps in poverty alleviation.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=578821&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

Middle East potential market for Pak furniture exports ​

LAHORE: Gulf and Middle East consumers using designs produced in Pakistan are potential buyers of Pakistani furniture and could facilitate the industry to achieve the targeted $1 billion export by 2015.

These remarks were made by Chairman Furniture Pakistan Shahbaz Aslam, while speaking at a press conference held at the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) zonal office Saturday.

He said local furniture industry is growing at an annual rate of 25 percent annually in the absence of modern technology and skilled labour force.

According to Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA), in the year 2004, its annual export turnover was $15 million, which clearly showed that if the needed infrastructure and basic facilities were created it could surpass the textile sector.

He appreciated government efforts to promote non-traditional sectors like furniture, gems, jewellery, marble, dairy and livestock.

He said for sustainable economic growth government would have to shift its focus from textile. He said government has already reduced customs duty from furniture raw material and zero-rated

the import of furniture machinery, which is a positive step.

He told the press conference that the federal government has given a grant of Rs590 million for the development of furniture industry in the country, out of this Rs150 million will be spent on the formation of company development, which will have 75 percent participation of private sector and 25 percent of public sector.

He said Rs50 million has been reserved for the establishment of training centers in Chiniot, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Lahore. The first training centre will be established in Chiniot and will start working by January next year as it has the largest furniture producing cluster of 20,000 small units.

In addition, a solar kiln will be established in Chiniot with an investment of Rs75 million, while Rs30 million has been allocated for exhibitions and foreign trade shows. He appreciated the role of Ministry of Industry, SMEDA, Engineering Development Board and USAID for supporting the project, and J. E. Austin Associates Inc; the consultant firm.

Dr Warren Weinstein, Country Director of J. E. Austin Associates Inc, speaking at the press conference said that presently preliminary studies are underway. He also said that academia has a very important role in the program, like Beacon house University, National College of Arts, Lahore School of Fashion Design and Punjab University are helping us in furniture design.

First furniture testing labs will also be established in the country to meet the export requirements of foreign buyers.

Answering a query, Shahbaz Aslam said that China, Malaysia and Vietnam are our main competitors but we are at a privileged position due to our geographical location. He said that we will try to market our products in the US and Europe afterward as they have reservations like sustainable forestry and no use of child labour.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=60807

 

[Neo]

Agriculture: the most ignored sector of the economy​

LAHORE: A complete transformation of the economy has hit hard the agriculture sector, which has suffered badly due to lack of interest by the government in developing the sector in accordance with the modern techniques.

The latest Economic Survey reveals that the share of agriculture has reduced to 20.9 percent from the earlier 24 percent and experts fear further decline in case no tangible effort is made to develop this sector on modern lines.

Interestingly, Pakistan’s economy is growing at a rate of 7 percent annually over the last few years and agriculture, its mainstay, is losing its share as a percentage of GDP resulting in a supply shortage of food items to the public. The federal government had allocated Rs 18 billion for the sector in 2006-07 and it spent Rs 10 billion. The remaining Rs 8 billion, said experts, has again been clubbed with another Rs10 billion to re-allocate Rs 18 billion for the current fiscal year.

In Punjab, the government allocated over one billion rupees in the fiscal year 2006-07 and increased it to Rs 2.8 billion in fiscal year 2007-08 but if one compares it with the allocation for education of over Rs 21 billion, allocation for agriculture seems a paltry sum. While most of the youngsters leave their education unfinished as soon as they are able to share the burden of cultivation in the rural economy. Therefore, heavy spending on education, according to some agriculture experts, would go unnoticed and the government would not only lose heavily in the education sector but it would also end up with a deteriorating agriculture sector.

“I strongly believe that even an allocation of Rs 2.8 billion for agriculture would not be spent properly, as agriculture is not on the top of government’s priority list,” said Ibrahim Mughal, Chairman Agri Forum Pakistan.

He also lambasted the federal policy makers for not extending required attention to the sector.

“They are actually interested in eliminating the sector, as imports suit them,” he said.

According to him, the economic managers of the government are giving all credit to the services sector in the national economy without realising that growth of the financial sector was dependent on the loans extended to industries related to the agriculture sector like textile, sugar and flour mills.

Dr Salman Shah, in a recent interaction with the media, pointed out that the government has injected billions of rupees in the rural economy by announcing lucrative support prices for crops like wheat and sugarcane. However, he was not able to satisfy reporters when he was asked what the government had done so far to modernise the agriculture sector.

According to some economists, the policy of announcing support prices has made the agriculture sector inefficient, as farmers have not given attention to enhancing crops’ per acre yield or improving the quality of crops. Instead, priority was given to those crops where they were getting high premium due to government’s intervention. As a matter of fact, the strategy of support prices has not only made agriculture sector inefficient but has also made the related industries sick on one hand and on the other hand, has made the consumers pay high price for food items.

Though, Dr Salman Shah does not admit that the development of agriculture sector on modern lines has been ignored over the last five years but policymakers in Punjab do admit the fact. According to them, the current fiscal year is the ‘year of agricultural reforms’ and further capacity to absorb would be created throughout the year.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\06\17\story_17-6-2007_pg5_2

 

[Neo]

Stock market capitalisation reaches $70b mark: Shah​

LAHORE: Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance, Dr Salman Shah has said capitalisation of the Karachi stock market has reached the level of $70 billion, about 50 percent of country's GDP of $145 billion.

"We are working to get it equal to country's GDP size," he said while talking to a group of local journalists here on Saturday.

He said that big companies should list themselves on the stock exchanges to raise equity instead of depending on banks for loans.

Dr Salman Shah said that Pakistan had the potential to emerge as the hub of manufacturing and Information Technology in the region like China and India. He said that federal government had made 22 percent increase in the allocation for education sector this year, adding that provinces were also making similar raise in the funds for this vital sector.

Similarly, he said, there was no need to increase interest rate or exchange rate adjustment to make products internationally competitive. Enhanced productivity could help achieve this objective significantly, he added.

He said that the size of country's GDP had risen to the $145 billion from $70 billion in the year 1998-99.

"Had we constructed more dams after Tarbela, our economy could have grown 10 times," he added. He said that bumper crops of wheat, cotton and sugarcane had resulted in the injection of Rs 250 billion, Rs 180 billion and Rs 85 billion respectively in the rural economy of the country.

He said that good return for agricultural produce has also contributed to hike in the prices of the food items.

Quoting a report from the latest issue Newsweek, Dr Salman Shah said that the average world inflation of food items at present stood at 23 percent. He said that the use of maize, sugarcane and palm oil for bio-diesel production, had also resulted in the price hike of these commodities.

He hoped that the prices of palm oil that recently touched the level of $815 per tonne had started declining.

Responding to a question, he said that the steps being taken by the government would help bridge the gap between power generation and consumption in the country.

"We are expecting additional 800-900 Megawatt of power within a month due to authorization of Captive Power Plants (CPPs) to sell electricity, installation of two rental power plants and increased inflows in the rivers due to glacial meltdown," he told

He urged the consumers to adopt power conservation techniques. Dr Salman Shah said that the annual growth of power consumption that stood at 3 percent in 2003-04 has shot up beyond the levels projected by the planners. Most of the power consumption rise was mainly due to increase in the use of consumer durables like air conditioners, TVs and washing machines, he added. app

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\06\17\story_17-6-2007_pg5_4

 

[Neo]

New plant to make 192MW from March​

KARACHI: The Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) is investing in a new 220-megawatt power plant that will help control the power shortages in the city, said

The KESC Board of Directors Chairman Abdulaziz Aljomaih said at a press conference Saturday that this plant was part of the utility’s plans to increase its power generation capacity.

The plant will start generating 192MW by March and the remaining 28MW will start being distributed by December 2008. Aljomaih said that the company has provided $50 million in financial assistance to support the operational deficit of the company and has been working with agencies such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and several other local banks. The banks will fund the capital expansion plan over three years with an amount of over $800 million that will bring 780MW of new power generation for the company by 2009.

“The capital enhancement programmes will boost KESC’s capacity from 70 percent to 90 percent with the cooperation of gas and petroleum companies,” he said. Governor of Sindh Dr Ishrat ul Ibad laid the foundation stone for the 220 MW plant at the Korangi Thermal Power Station.

The governor, who was there as the chief guest, said that the government is focusing on curbing the menace of load shedding in Karachi, particularly in residential areas, and it will extend its full support to the KESC and its management.

Detailing the venture, KESC CEO S. M. Amjad said there is no denial of the fact that the utility is facing challenges in meeting the power demand of the city. “Once the initiatives taken by the KESC ... are complete, our network reliability will improve from 70 percent to 90 percent by 2008 and our generation will increase by 1000 MW.”

The company is in the process of evaluating the final bid for another 560 MW unit for the Bin Qasim Power Plant, which will be finalized over the next few months, he said. Amjad said that KESC owners are not reluctant to invest in restructuring and development, contrary to what people think.

The KESC chief told the audience that the company will enhance its generation capacity to 4,300 MW by 2010 and then to 6,000 MW by 2017.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\06\17\story_17-6-2007_pg12_1

 

[Neo]

Rs2.66 bln allocated for industrial, agri and farming uplift ​

PESHAWAR: June 17, 2007: NWFP Finance Minister, Shah Raz Khan Saturday said, the provincial government is giving top priority to industrial, agriculture, farming and irrigation development as massive funds have been allocated for these sectors in the NWFP budget 2007-08.

Unfolding the budget in the NWFP Assembly, the Finance Minister said, to achieve autarky in food, Rs. 2.66 billion has been earmarked in the budget for the completion of 176 projects during next fiscal.

Shah Raz Khan disclosed that 760 kilometers roads have been completed in the outgoing fiscal year including completion of 12 new bridges.

To provide easy access to the people, road net work is being extended as it is a pre-requisite for the industrial progress, he said.

The NWFP government has included 181 new projects in the current fiscal year costing Rs.3.96 billion.

The projects, he said, included 500 kilometers metal led road and 10 new bridges. He said to facilitate the farmers; the NWFP government has constituted Area Water Boards, Anjuman-e-Kissan Board, privatisation's of Tube wells and Chashma Command Area Developmental System.

In the current fiscal year, he said that the NWFP Government has decided to establish new water channel and construction of small dams to feed the farmers with proper irrigation water utilisation.

The provincial government, he said, has planned 65 projects, costing 824 million for construction of water channels. He said 95 kilometers water channels have been completed with installation of 131 Tube Wells.

A total of 15700 acres land would come under cultivation due to increase water facilities.

He said, 507 kilometers watercourses have been improved, 131 tube-wells sink, 12.78 million square feet canals have been metal led while in District Dera Ismail Khan a survey report has been completed for the construction of three small dams.

In the next fiscal year 2007-08, Rs.1.34 billion has been earmarked for the completion of 56 projects in irrigation for sinking of 35 tube wells which will help irrigate 16000 acres of land besides protecting 60,000 acres land from being water logged.

In the farming sector, which is very important tool for overall progress, the provincial government has taken various preventive measures to save waters and to provide irrigation water to the tail end.

To stop the wastage of water, the provincial finance minister, said pavement of water channels and watercourses, establishing farms centers, and interest free loan to the farmers are few steps.

He said Dairy Colonies have been setup in Dera Ismail Khan and Nowshera which will help in milk collection its subsequent cold storage.

In the current fiscal year, he said, 246 million has been earmarked for 35 projects.

He said 4795 exhibition plots have been established. In all 2241 farmers and staff have been provided training. Artificial insemination has been carried of 200,000 animals while 0.8 million new Tea plants has been prepared.

In the 2007-08, Rs. 322 million has been earmarked for the 36 farming projects and with the support of private sector production of milk and meat would boost up. He said 8000 exhibition plots would be established.

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[Introvert]

Pakistan earns $24 mln annually from Mango export

Pakistan earns about $24 million annually from mango export, an official of Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock told APP on Saturday.Mango is the second major fruit crop grown on an area of over 93,000 hectares with a production of the 915,000 tonnes, every year.

He said around 60-70 percent good quality fruit exported to middle eastern countries, followed by 15-16 percent to european states,

He said the total export varies from year to year but there is huge potential for export of Pakistani mango in world market, he remarked.

He said there was a need to enhance production and quality of the fruit by adopting modern orchard management techniques.

He said the area under mango crop had increased but the productivity ratio was low due to some diseases of mango.

In Punjab, he said Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Muzaffargarh, Bawalpur, Kabirwala,Vehari and Okara are famous for quality mango production.

In Sindh it is mainly grown in Khairpur Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas and In NWFP mango was grown in Peshawar' suburbs.

He said efforts were increase the export of mango and its growers were being equipped with modern techniques to protect the crop from diseases, especially powdery mildeway, blossom blight and anthroconse.

As part of efforts to enhance mango export, the agriculture linkages programme were being implemented in two main mango growing provinces of Sindh and Punjab with international research organizations.
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[Neo]

319 industrial units set up in NWFP, says minister​

PESHAWAR (June 18 2007): The NWFP Minister for Finance and Environment, Shah Raz Khan on Sunday has said that the investment friendly policies, exemption of property taxes on industrial units in industrial estates and other incentives are promoting the industrialisation in the province.

Addressing post-budget press conference Shah Raz Khan disclosed that during the last four years of the government of religio-political alliance of MMA a total of 319 new industries have been set up in the province and around 73,000 labourers had got employment opportunities.

Dispelling the impression of no industrialisation in NWFP during the present provincial government, he said 54 new industries were set up last year only in Gadoon Amazai Industrial Estate. He said although Gadoon Amazai is considered a graveyard of industrial units since the withdrawal of incentives announced by the federal government.

He added an investment of Rs 2.5 billion was also made in the estates adding that 48 acres land has been acquiired for establishment of PVC pipe manufacturing unit in Gadoon Amazai Industrial Estate.

"The total investment made in last one year in NWFP is around Rs 3.96 billion whereas 11,147 persons also got employment opportunities," Shah Raz Khan added.

The provincial government, he said had also constituted an Investment Facilitation Council and Investment Facilitation Committee; the former is chaired by the chief minister while the later is headed by Chief Secretaries.

The bodies having representation from both public and private sectors are holding regular meetings since their formation in 2005.

The Investment Facilitation Council, he said has prepared an agenda after thoroughly taking review of industrial policy. The same agenda will be presented to the Chief Minister for approval in the first week of the next financial year. The minister said that the expansion of Hattar Industrial and Nowshera Industrial Estates were also successfully in progress.

In reply to a question regarding promotion of tourism sector, the minister acknowledged the potential of sector in the province, saying before the formation of the government of MMA roads were in deplorable conditions.

The provincial government, he said had improved roads till Dargai while construction of the remaining portion is being carried by National Highway Authority (NHA). In a recent meeting of Economic Co-ordination Council, the minister said federal government had approved the improvement of roads till scenic valley of Kalam. The completion of work on the roads would help the government to catch the potential of tourism in the province.

The government, he said had also constituted a committee comprising members of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and Agricultural Chamber of Commerce of NWFP, secretary finance NWFP and officers of other concerned departments for introduction of tax reforms in the taxation system.

He said the provincial government in the finance bill 2007 has revised tax rates and had exempted widows of the property tax on in urban areas not exceeding tax of Rs 10000 Similarly, stamp duties on different instruments had also been revised to increase the revenue of the province.

The government, the minister said during the last four and half years had retired a federal government debt amounting to Rs 13 billion to save another amount of Rs 3 billion payable in shape of mark up. Next year, he said government would retire another debt of Rs 5 billion to raise the total toll of retirement to Rs 22 billion. Provincial Minister for Information, Asif Iqbal Daudzai and administrative secretaries of provincial departments were also present in the post-budget press conference.

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[Neo]

Government needs Rs 230 billion loans, Rs 30 billion grants for uplift programme ​

KARACHI (June 18 2007): Pakistan will acquire Rs 229.824 billion foreign assistance in the shape of loans from international financial institutions and different countries for the next fiscal year to execute its development programme.

The finance division of the federal government has estimated an overall outlay of Rs 229.685 billion development loans and Rs 29.958 billion development grants, while non-development grants estimates stand at Rs 180 million for the fiscal 2007-08.

The development assistance for the next fiscal year is Rs 20.327 billion higher than current fiscal 2006-07 estimates, current year government's budgetary estimates of foreign assistance stood at Rs 239.316 billion but revised estimates show Rs 281.593 billion.

For the next fiscal year, the government has estimated Rs 66.603 billion loans from foreign institutions for project, including Rs 26.826 billion for federal projects, Rs 15.649 billion for autonomous bodies and Rs 24.127 billion for provinces.

Foreign projects grant stands for 2007-08 estimates Rs 3.471 billion, including Rs 1.506 billion for federal departments and Rs 1.965 billion for provinces.

The finance department has estimated Rs 125.791 billion loans for commodity aid (non-food) and Rs 37.290 billion for other aid, while for food aid no grant has been estimated against the current fiscal year's revised food grant of Rs 730 million.

According to plan, the Asian Development (ADB) would provide Rs 56.6 billion loans and Rs 870.1 million grants, United Arab Emirates Rs 3 billion loans, China Rs 5.301 billion loans and Rs 448.25 million grants, Canada Rs 559.35 million grants, European Union Rs 1.09 billion grants.

Loans from Eurobonds estimated at Rs 31.075 billion, loans from France Rs 1.935 billion, from Germany Rs 800 million and Rs 734.64 million grants and loans from International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) estimated at Rs 800.558 million.

In addition, loans and grants from International Bank for Reconstruction & Development (ABRD) are estimated at Rs 3.434 billion, International Development Association (IDA) Rs 102.139 billion, Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Rs 16.474 billion, Japan Rs 4.118 billion, Korea Rs 1.071 billion, Kuwait Rs 986.5 million, Norway 101.2 million, Saudi Arabia Rs 2.486 billion, and Switzerland Rs 526 million.

Similarly, loans and grants from United Kingdom (UK) are estimated at Rs 7.647 billion, United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) Rs 203.650 million, United Nation International Children Emergency Fund (Unicef) Rs 198.2 million, USA Rs 12.721 billion, World Food Programme (WFP) Rs 186.685 million, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) 1.725 billion and from Agency Franchise Development (AFD) Rs 1.295 billion.

Non-plan resources have been estimated at Rs 1.111 billion, including Rs 1.087 billion grants from Oman and Rs 24 million grants from EU, while Rs 180 million has been estimated as non-development grants for the next fiscal year.

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