ISLAMABAD: The much-awaited import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an additional source of energy was finally approved by the cabinet on Friday.

The approval has paved way for the signing of commercial agreement between the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and the Elengy Terminal Pakistan Ltd (ETPL) which also includes establishment of a terminal at Port Qasim near Karachi.

The federal cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved the tariff of $0.66 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) for LNG services project secured through competitive bidding process by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources.

The cabinet decided that the policy guidelines of the tariff should be conveyed to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra). Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi informed the cabinet that the price of LNG is competitive with the international market, and the contract will be for 15 years and will provide 200 mmbtu of LNG in the first year and would be increased to 400 mmbtu from the second year.

Under the contract, the LNG terminal would be developed within a year to start the import, which is expected to save over Rs50bn spent each year on the import of oil.

The cabinet approved signing of an agreement with Iran for the purchase of electricity, and it is expected that the agreement will be signed during the visit of prime minister to Tehran. The MoU will be signed between Iran powers Generation, Transmission and Distribution management Company (TAVANIR) and the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) in the field of electricity transmission.

The cabinet also approved the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2010 and the SBP Banking Services Corporation Ordinance (Repeal) Bill 2010. The bill will bring amendment to strengthen operational independence of the SBP, and as informed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the enactment of the bill is expected to take place by June this year.

The cabinet approved Equity Participation Fund Repeal Bill-2014, and reconsideration of the cabinet decision regarding repealing of Section 27(b) of the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962.

The ‘Right to Information Bill, 2014’ was deferred by the cabinet and the prime minister asked for further consultations with the opposition and stakeholders.

Approval was given to start negotiations and approval for signing of memorandum of cooperation between the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan and the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan.

Formal Approval of the cabinet was also accorded for signing MoU between the governments of Pakistan and China on Raikot Islamabad Section of China-Pak Economic Corridor by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).

The cabinet gave approval in principle for negotiations of the draft agreement between the Ministry of Defence and the UAE Ministry of Interior for secondment of qualified technical military personnel (Drum majors) to the UAE. Approval was also given for signing an MoU with Tanzania on defence cooperation.

The cabinet approved signing of revised draft agreement between defence ministries of Pakistan and Russia on military cooperation. On cooperation in defence matters, the cabinet approval in principle for negotiations of the draft MoU between Pakistan and Vietnam.

On the negotiations for the signing of an agreement between Pakistan and South Africa on defence industrial corporation, the cabinet deferred the matter as the prime minister believed that the matter of production in defence sector is of immense importance and the cabinet should be briefed on the matter in detail.

The start of negotiations for an agreement on economic cooperation between Pakistan and Czech Republic was also approved by the cabinet.

The cabinet approved initiation of negotiations for signing of reciprocal agreement and MoU between Pakistan and Qatar. Start of negotiations for MoU between supreme audit institutions of Pakistan and Vietnam on cooperation on auditing in public sector was also approved.

The cabinet approved start of negotiations between the SBP and the central banks of France and the Philippines for signing agreements on cooperation in the field of banking supervision and exchange of information. The negotiations between the SBP and the Central Bank of Kenya on cooperation in supervision and supervised institutions were also approved.

The start of negotiations between Pakistan and the US concerning the imposition of import restriction on archaeological material was also approved.

The cabinet gave ex-post facto approval, in principle, to start negotiations and signing of protocol on Compliance of Phytosanitary Requirements between Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance of the Russian Federation and Department of Plant Protection on mutual supplies of productions of high phytosanitary risk.

The cabinet approved starting negotiations and for signing MoU on cooperation in preventing and combating pollution from ships with Iran.