ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Monday approved the immediate import of 200,000 MT of Urea fertilizers and directed that the uninterrupted supply of gas for the fertilizer industry be ensured.
The committee held a meeting presided over by the Caretaker Finance Minister Dr. Shamshad Akhtar. It discussed and approved several summaries.
The meeting was attended by the Minister for Commerce, Industries, and Production, Gohar Ijaz; Minister for Communications, Railways, and Maritime Affairs, Shahid Ashraf Tarar; Minister of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Sami Saeed; Minister for Power and Petroleum, Muhammad Ali, Minister for IT and Telecom, Dr. Umar Saif, and other top officials.
ECC’s Approves Gas Tariff Summary
During the meeting, a summary submitted by the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) regarding the revision of the natural gas sale pricing for the Financial Year 2023-24 was discussed. After detailed discussion and deliberation, the ECC accorded approval to the summary as per the tariff schedule submitted by the Ministry, prospectively w.e.f. November 1 instead of October 1, 2023.
The committee also discussed and approved the summary submitted by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research regarding the cost-efficient import of 1.00 MMT of milling wheat for the Financial Year 2023-24 through TCP under the open tendering process.
It approved the proposal for encouraging the private sector to import specified milling wheat under the Ministry of Finance Notification of November 14, 2008, while meeting the criteria given in the import policy order 2022. The ECC also directed the Ministry to carry out a third-party verification of the wheat stock in Pakistan.
The meeting also deliberated over a summary submitted by the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority for approval of the Technical supplementary Grant of 484 million rupees to meet critical expenditure on pay and allowances of 415 contract and project employees from July 2023 onwards. The ECC asked the Ministry of Planning and Development to identify the savings to finance the ERRA employees’ salaries.
The forum also considered and approved a summary of the Ministry of Finance regarding the establishment of the National Credit Guarantee Company Limited to support the credit enhancement of Small and medium enterprises.
