The Ministry of Water and Power''s top brains are reportedly determined to give a go-ahead to four rental power plants (RPPs), without taking the Cabinet into confidence, sources told Business Recorder.
These projects are as follows: Sialkot Rental Power, Eminabad; Ruba Power Generation, Manga-Raiwind; Kamoki Energy Limited, and a project to be established in Karachi. The Rental Service Agreements (RSAs) of these RPPs are to be effective. To execute the plan, Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) is being pressed by the Ministry. However, its official spokesman denied it.
Sources said that a report, prepared by the former Managing Director of Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB), whose service was terminated and later restored by the Prime Minister, was instrumental in seeking approval from a four/five-member committee, headed by the Additional Secretary, Ahsan Akhtar Malik, and comprising two legal experts from PPIB and NTDC each.
RPPs issue also came under discussion at a meeting in the PPIB on Wednesday. The meeting was presided over by the Minister for Water and Power, Pervaiz Ashraf. The key focus of the meeting was power sector. On January 1, 2010, the Cabinet had directed the Ministry of Water and Power to revisit the contracts of six RPPs of 738 MW and remove inconsistencies, as suggested by the third-party audit. The Rental Service Agreements (RSAs) of these 6 RPPs are not yet effective.
Official documents show that the Ministry of Water and Power had approached the Cabinet Division to halt implementation of Cabinet''s decision regarding removal of inconsistencies in contracts of RPPs, instead of approaching the Prime Minister for future line of action.
Sources said that the Ministry of Water and Power in its implementation status report on ADB audit report on RPPs had stated that the signed RPPs were at various stages of implementation and it may, therefore, not be realistic to re-open the signed agreements for removal of inconsistencies without harming/declaring the projects. This was stated in an Office Memorandum (OM), issued by a Section Officer of the Cabinet Division.
According to the OM, the implementation status, as is being dispatched by the Water and Power Division, is a departure from the Cabinet decision. The Ministry of Water and Power was requested to refer the matter to the Prime Minister under Rule 15(1)(a) of the Rules of Business, 1973. Sources said that some of the already approved RPPs, of 1156 MW, are also delayed due to different reasons.
Sources said that the committee, headed by the Additional Secretary, met a couple of weeks ago wherein it was decided to clear four projects. An official confirmed the authenticity of this information but emphasised that the committee''s recommendations would be tabled before the Cabinet. "These are recommendations of the committee, which can be approved or rejected or amended by the federal cabinet," he stated. According to him, the Cabinet can give go-ahead signal to four RPPs, ask for all the six RPPs, or direct a fresh process.
Comments
Comments are closed.