The Tuwairqi Steel has clarified that it has not submitted any amended version of the Implementation Agreement (facilities/incentives) to the government. According to a press release of the company issued on Saturday.
In fact the implementation agreement, which is merely a transformation of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the Government of Pakistan (GoP) and the Al-Tuwairqi Group of Companies on May 28, 2004 envisages the undertaking of GoP in respect of concerned entities involved in providing infrastructure for the project.
The implementation agreement besides being a requirement of the lending agencies (foreign banks) provides requisite comfort to a foreign investor. Since the project has been declared as Export Processing Zone (EPZ), all the incentives mentioned in the news item are the same which are provided by the Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA) generally to other investors as well and the Tuwairqi Steel is no exception.
It is also clarified that Tuwairqi Steel Mills has never demanded anything beyond the stipulation of MoU on the basis of which the whole project is conceived and the Tuwairqi Steel also does not intend to do so in future.
To keep the record straight, the Tuwairqi Steel Mills has foregone numerous facilities which were committed in the MoU, but could not be given due to constraints on the part of the government control entities. The Al-Tuwairqi Group has, however, assured the government that the project, despite various bottlenecks, is in progress and would be completed on fast track, and would be a symbol of brotherly relations between the two countries, and a humble contribution from the Group towards the economic growth of Pakistan.
This investment currently may be the only green field project in Pakistan, but once materialised, would evidently be a source of attraction to other foreign investments in Pakistan.-PR
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