ISLAMABAD – Industries and Production Secretary Azhar Ali ChaudhryWednesday said a number of companies from China and Russia were showinginterest in acquiring Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM).Briefing Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production, he saidthe government had delisted the PSM from privatization.
The meeting of the committee was presided over by Senator Ahmed Khan.The secretary informed the committee that the losses of Steel Mills hadaccumulated to over Rs212 billion adding that an expert group had beenformed for restoring the production at its full capacity.Expressing reservations over closure of the PSM, the committee saidbillions of rupees were being spent on account of salaries and otherexpenditures, however, the PSM was showing zero output for last four years.The committee also decided to visit on site in Karachi.Meanwhile, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Project Director HassanDaud Butt, briefing the committee, said the two countries had announced2019 as the year of industrial cooperation to move forward under agreedprogramme of CPEC.This year, he said, the government had decided to launch four new SpecialEconomic Zones (SEZs) including Rashakai, Allama Iqbal Industrial City,Dhabeji and Islamabad.Clearing the reservation of committee chairman, the CPEC project directorsaid the government was procuring the land as per market price for SEZs.The committee formed a six-member sub-committee on the matter of SEZs.
