K-Electric shows interest in 200 acres of PTCL land, National Assembly body told

Pakistan Textile Company Limited (PTCL) approached the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Ministry of Finance and Textile Industry for rescheduling/re-profiling of loans which had swelled to Rs 2.4 billion, after the Bank had blocked the company accounts for non-payment of first principal instalment. This was revealed in the National Assembly Standing Committee on Textile Industry, which met with Ghulam Rasool Koreja in the chair here on Wednesday.
Briefing the committee, PTCL officials said that K-Electric has shown interest in the purchase of 200 acres of land of PTCL for the installation of 2x350 MW coal-fired power plants. Since this sale to K-Electric for power generation does not fall in the ambit of the memorandum of PTCL, hence all the stakeholders were addressed to comment on this sale so that necessary summary may be moved for getting approval of ECC.
The officials said except Ministry of Water & Power, government of Sindh, Port Qasim Authority and Export Processing Zone Authority, replies were received from other stakeholders. The summary for ECC is being delayed due to non-receipt of their replies. The possible sale of 200 acres of land will clear the liability of NBP and will also restore the financial health of the Company.
The company acquired 1250 acres of land on 50 years of lease from Port Qasim Authority in 2004 for the development of textile city. Due to lack of infrastructure on its land, company is unable to sell any of its land in past 11 years, the officials added. While discussing the issue of water supply of textile city, the Committee observed that the increase in the cost was primarily due to unnecessary delay in the completion of the project. A sub-Committee was constituted under the convenor-ship of Rasheed Ahmed Godil to further discuss the issue.
The committee was further informed that Land Utilisation Department (LUD), government of Sindh allotted 300 acres of industrial land at Deh Pipri in Port Qasim town on 99-year lease in the name of Ministry of Textile Industry for setting up Karachi Garment City on 29th March, 2007. Export Development Board (EDB) paid an amount of Rs 300 million as cost of land. Possession of land was taken over by KGCC on 6th August, 2009. Right from the very beginning the project ran into snags.
After the payment of the cost of land the LUD referred the land allotted to KGCC to its Review Committee on July 16, 2008 to review all allotments made during six months prior to the announcement of the General Elections held on February 18, 2008. The LUD ignored the fact that the land of KGCC was allotted almost a year before the holding of General Elections 2008.
After constant persuasion the Secretary LUD ultimately decided on April 9, 2012 to decide that the allotment of 300 acres of land for KGCC will remain intact and that it will be excluded from the purview of Review committee. Besides, the LUD also demanded a sum of Rs 4.356 million as annual ground rent of 300 acres of land which was paid to the government of Sindh of the 3 preceding years on May 3, 2012. It took 3 years and 8 months for LUD to clear the allotment of the land and to exclude it from purview of Review Committee.
However in a Suo Moto case, Supreme Court of Pakistan in its verdict of April 16, 2013 imposed a ban on the disposal of state land including the land of KGCC. As a consequence the LUD issued a notice dated to KGCC cancelling the allotment of land and forfeiture of the amount paid as cost of the land.
On 3rd October 2013, the Sindh government filed a CMA and the Supreme Court vacated the stay with a clarification that there was no ban on the allotment of land to the project of public interest including allotment of land to KGCC. The committee was further informed that however there is another stay order issued by Sindh High Court dated to Pakistan Steel Mills against the allotment of land in Deh Pipri and Deh Bakran by Secretary Land Utilisation Department Sindh to 10 private persons in the area. Whether this stay orders still exists or not and whether it applies on our land or not, it is not sure. However, the Company Secretary has approached Office of the DC Malir and Sindh Land Utilisation Department to provide a challan for the deposit of transfer fee in the favour of ministry of Textile Industry but their reply is not forthcoming.
The KGCC has received necessary funds from the Export Development Funds for the payment of dues regarding the transfer of land and for the construction of boundary wall. As soon as they receive the challan form demanding the dues for mutation of land in KGCC name the amount will be paid and further development work will be commenced. The committee showed its displeasure over the absence of the Deputy Commissioner Malir, Karachi and also directed for taking efforts to vacate stay orders that land may be allotted to the Garment city.