Efforts on to increase home remittances to $8 billion, minister tells National Assembly

The government told the National Assembly on Friday that efforts are afoot to increase home remittances from current level of $6.3 to $8 billion. Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis Syed Khurshid Shah replying to a question said special cards would be issued to overseas Pakistanis to convince them for sending money back through legal channels.
The Minister said 280,000 people were sent abroad in 2007 and the number last year mounted to 430,000 while 500,000 people would be sent this year. Giving details of the measures to increase the remittances, he said his Ministry has written to the Finance Ministry for giving equal status to the foreign investors and the overseas Pakistanis because they also contribute remarkably to the national economy. The Minister said that in the letter it was proposed to categorise the overseas Pakistanis for issuance of cards.
They should be given silver card for investing $5,000, golden card for $10,000, diamond card for above $10,000, while a platinum card should be given for investing $100,000. On the basis of these cards, overseas investors would be given concession in customs duty, PIA fares and immigration facilities.
He said that overseas Pakistanis do not invest through labour ministry rather they can do so through ministry of investment, urging the government to give them the status of investors. Meanwhile, Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf said that various power projects would become operational by December this year that would generate 3500 Megawatts electricity that would eliminate load-shedding from the country.
Replying to questions, he said the government has taken a number of steps to install new thermal, hydro, and rental and coal power generation schemes in public and private sectors to overcome power shortage. He said the country is facing about 1700 megawatts power shortage daily that is being distributed among all distribution companies on the basis of their share in total demand.
He said that the United Arab Emirates has offered to donate thirteen gas turbines that would generate 320 megawatts electricity. The Minister said overall 18 hydel power stations with a cumulative 18848 megawatts are proposed to be constructed in public sector on various rivers while 20 hydel power stations with cumulative capacity of 4809 megawatts are proposed on various rivers in private sector.
He said that no new power project was installed during last nine years instead the present government inherited Rs 400 billion debt of Independent Power Producers that resulted in frequent load-shedding. He said that the government has started paying dues of the IPPs and expressed the confidence that the debt of these companies would be cleared by June this year.
About load-shedding problem in Karachi, he said the problem would also be resolved hopefully within six months as the government has arranged mobile power generators that would reach Karachi during this period. Minister of State for Cabinet Division Mahreen Anwar Raja said that development work in Sector D-12 of Islamabad is in progress and it is expected to end by June this year.