ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCoSOEs) has approved nominations for boards of nine electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) and categorisation of the port authorities – Port Qasim Authority (PQA), Karachi Port Trust (KPT), and Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) – as essential.
The meeting of the CCoSOEs presided over by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday approved a summary presented by the Power Division to consider the recommendations of the Board Nominations Committee (BNC) regarding boards of electricity DISCOs, which contained nominations for boards of nine electricity distribution companies.
The committee considered the summaries presented by different ministries/divisions for the categorisation of their relevant state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as strategic/essential or otherwise.
Reconstitution of Discos’ boards: CCoSOEs approves Power Division’s proposal
The Cabinet Division presented summaries related to the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) and the Printing Corporation of Pakistan (PCP).
The Cabinet Committee directed the Cabinet Division to initiate the process for winding up of the PTDC by clearing the ongoing litigations etc.
The committee also directed that the PCP’s Board be reconstituted in line with SOE law and policy and business viability plan presented to the committee, before a final decision is taken on the future of the entity.
The CCoSOEs also considered the summaries of the Ministry of Housing and Works relating to Pakistan Environmental Planning and Architectural Consultants (PEPAC) and National Construction Limited (NCL).
The committee approved the proposal for winding up of PEPAC.
It also directed the authorities to complete the ongoing projects of the NCL and prepare the plan for winding up its operations.
The committee further approved the proposals presented by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs regarding categorisation of the port authorities, ie, PQA, KPT, and GPA as essential.
The committee was informed that port operations were already outsourced in a number of cases and this policy will continue. The committee directed the Ministry of Maritime Affairs to ensure that the governance framework of port authorities is compliant with the SOE law. To this end, the ministry will initiate amendments to their respective statutes.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Housing and Works Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Minister for Maritime Affairs Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Minister of Federal Education and Professional Training of Pakistan Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, federal secretaries and other senior officers of the relevant ministries.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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