The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has decided to provide an additional guarantee of Rs 20 billion for Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL) for the purpose of meeting the expenditure of overhauling of aircraft engines. A meeting of the ECC presided over by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi considered a proposal with respect to sovereign guarantee and directed the Aviation Division and the Finance Ministry to ensure that the financing support approved by the ECC is strictly utilized only for the defined purpose.
The ECC was also briefed by the chief executive officer (CEO) PIACL about the progress made so far to improve the financial health of national flag carrier and reduce its losses.
The ECC also approved a proposal for introducing necessary amendments to the Oil and Gas Regulatory (OGRA) Ordinance 2002 to cover the entire LNG/RLNG supply chain in the OGRA regulatory framework and remove anomalies in the dispatch, receipt and billing of RLNG volumes.
An official said that LNG/RLNG was treated under petroleum products and now with the approval of the amendments in the OGRA Ordinance, it will be treated as gas product. He, however, claimed that placing the LNG/RNG under petroleum products will have no impact on its price. The price calculation will now be directly done by the OGRA.
The meeting approved the supply of 35,000 metric tons of wheat from Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Service Corporation (Passco) to the World Food Program for distribution amongst the temporarily displaced persons (TDPs) of FATA.
The ECC also approved, in principle, exemption of regulatory duties on import of fresh fruits, vegetables and dry fruits from Afghanistan, which had been announced by the Prime Minister during his visit to Afghanistan.