ISLAMABAD: A top Pakistani official said that the federal government took the decision to permanently shut down Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), a state-owned enterprise that has been suffering heavy losses since 2009. Dr Muhammad Fakhr-e-Alam Irfan, federal secretary of Ministry of Industries and Production disclosed this during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production. Dr Irfan stated the Sindh government has been offered to take control of around 700 acres of the total 18,000 acres land of the Steel Mills and set up its own steel plant on the site.
He told the committee that the caretaker government had also made some amendments about the privatization of the PSM.
Dr Irfan said that the government has decided to utilize the PSM land for establishing Export Promotion Zone and Industrial Zones. He stated that the caretaker provincial government had allowed the caretaker federal government to utilize the land but the current provincial government has also reviewed the decision of the caretaker government.
The federal secretary of Ministry of Industries and Production said that the Sindh government will set up a new steel mill on an area of 700 acres of land while the rest of the land will remain the property of the Steel Mills. He added that the Ministry of Industries and Production is awaiting the decision of the Sindh Cabinet over the matter.
Briefing the panel, the representative of the PSM union pleaded the committee that the employees of the Steel Mills wanted to know whether they are entitled to 12 percent or not. He also challenged the figures provided by the PSM officials to the committee. The standing committee had directed him for the provision of details in the upcoming meeting.
On the occasion, the chairman committee and other members while expressing their displeasure over the absence of the federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussian, stated that parliamentary committees are a significant part of parliament and federal ministers must ensure their presence in the committees. The PSM, which was set up in 1974, has been facing financial issues for the past decade.
