Karachi, 7 January 2023(GNP): Pakistan’s government has decided to sell two LNG power plants to raise an estimated $1.5 billion. Previously these plants were to be privatized, however now, the government aims to sell state assets to Qatar in a direct deal to avoid an impending sovereign default.
In a meeting of the Privatisation Commission Board (PCB) called on Thursday, an order was issued to remove the plants from the privatization program. The government formed a new cabinet committee aimed at selling the state assets on a fast-track basis. The 2460 megawatts (MW) capacity LNG-fired power plants will be handed over to this committee to find a suitable foreign buyer.
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These two LNG plants were the only valuable assets on the privatization list. After their disposal, the existence of the Privatisation Commission will come into question. The previous government headed by Imran Khan had put both power plants on the active list of privatization to raise roughly $1.5 billion for the financing budget.
However, the government failed to do so. These LNG plants had been built with government aid during the last PML-N government and are owned by the National Power Park Management Co. Ltd. (NPPMCL).
Pakistan faces the threat of a looming sovereign default due to a delay in the revival of the International Monetary Fund program (IMF). Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has listed the sale of the LNG-fired power plants among the ‘low-hanging fruits that will be sold to arrange foreign currency. He has also refuted claims of Pakistan defaulting anytime soon.
