ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has increased the gas price for Fatima Fertilizer (Sheikhupura) and Agritech (Mianwali) plants to Rs1,239 Mmbtu from July 2023 onward after the meeting was informed that manufacturers have already increased urea prices from Rs2,791 to Rs3,277 per 50-kg from July 4, 2023.
The ECC also approved Rs10 billion TSG for technical capabilities to proactively identify potential cyber threats on the national critical information infrastructure.
The ECC meeting presided over by Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar on Wednesday was proposed by the Petroleum Division that the ECC’s decision of 8th August 2023 may be revised as under the indigenous gas supply to both SNGPL-based fertiliser plants – Fatima Fertilizer (Sheikhupura) and Agritech (Mianwali) may be extended till 15th October 2023 at prescribed price determined by the OGRA for the SNGPL in DERR for the current financial year from July 2023 onward.
Accordingly, the OGRA may notify Rs1,050/Mmbtu from March-June 2023 and Rs1,239/Mmbtu from July 2023 onward for Fatima Fertilizer (Sheikhupura) and Agritech (Mianwali) plants.
The Finance Division in the comments conveyed that the gas supply to the two fertiliser plants has been approved on no-subsidy basis.
The Ministry of Industries and Production has also supported the proposal with the additional proposal of operation of SNGPL-based plants till 31st March 2024.
The Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) has also supported the proposal and communicated that both the urea manufacturers (Fatima Fertilizer and Agritech) have already increased the urea prices from Rs2,791 to Rs3,277 per 50-kg bag from 4th July 2023.
The MNFSR has also pointed out that the company notified urea price was Rs1,667 on 01 August 2020 which is now ranged between Rs3,210 and Rs3,595 per 50 kg bag, whereas, the gas price for MPCL-based urea plants (40 per cent share) has not changed since 01 September 2020.
The ECC approved proposals of the Petroleum Division regarding the supply of gas/RLNG to Fatima Fertilizer and Agritech to meet the requirement of urea, allocation of gas from M/s United Energy Pakistan’s Mohar field to the SSGCL and allocation of condensate to the Attock Refinery Limited and its freight charges adjustment through inter-freight equalisation mechanism were also approved after detailed deliberations by the ECC.
The ECC approved a proposal of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication regarding allocation of Rs10 billion through a technical supplementary grant (TSG) during the current fiscal year for the Digital Information Infrastructure Initiative.
The meeting was informed that the funds will be utilised to provide requisite technical capabilities to proactively identify potential cyber threats on the national critical information infrastructure besides preventing cyber security breaches.
The ECC considered the proposal and approved a summary of the Petroleum Division regarding re-grant of Sui Development and Production Lease after the provincial government of Balochistan indicated its endorsement of the proposal.
A summary of the Ministry of Maritimes Affairs regarding the revised fee of issuance of the certificate of quality and origin and other certificates for Fish and Fishery Products under Pakistan Fish Inspection and Quality Control Rules, 1998, was also approved with the directions to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Maritimes Affairs to explore further avenues of investment.
The MNFSR presented a summary regarding extension of farm mechanization scheme of Kissan Package to the ECC, which was approved after a detailed discussion.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
Comments
Comments are closed.