ISLAMABAD: The Eco­nomic Coordination Com­mittee (ECC) on Friday approved technical supplementary grant for “Ini­tiating the Process of Retrenchment of Pakistan Steel Mills Employees (PSM)” for an amount of Rs19.656 billion.

The package for the retrenchment of about 9,000 employees was given a go-ahead in August, for which the grant was approved.

The meeting also appro­ved another technical supplementary grant amounting to Rs500 million for “Prime Minister’s Special Package to Implement Skills For All Strategy as Catalyst for TVET Sector Develop­ment in Pakistan” while Rs689.3m was set aside as budget re-appropriation for the National Information Technology Board to fulfil its requirements.

The ECC consented to the proposal by the Ministry of Energy/Petroleum Division for allocation of 2.25 MMCFD gas from Umair-1 to M/s OGDCL for sale to M/s Engro at a mutually agreed and negotiated price, under a Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement subject to initiation of the Field Development Plan and Development and Production Lease.

The meeting was also briefed on the status of wheat import through the Trade Corporation of Pakistan.

The Ministry of National Food Security and Research informed the forum on the provision of additional 340,000 tonnes of wheat for which a tender was floated on Nov 11, bids opened on Nov 18 and the lowest bid was accepted. The total quantity to be imported was put at 2.248m tonnes.

Earlier on Nov 16, the ECC discussed a summary of the Aviation Division for allocation of Rs12bn cash support from the federal government for Voluntary Separation Scheme to about 3,500 employees of the Pakistan International Airlines. The ECC approved in principle the VSS to PIA staff, but did not approve Rs12bn demand with instructions that the offer should be made to the staff to know exactly how many employees were willing to avail of it to ascertain the required funding.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2020