Blaze News - Pakistan

The failure of caretaker administration to finalise a mechanism for urea delivery to farmers is leading to a multibillion-rupee scandal, resulting in the plunder of money by fertiliser dealers. Already, the government has imported 220,000 tons of urea costing nearly Rs30 billion, which was sent to National Fertiliser Marketing Limited (NFML) warehouses on December 25 last year. However, the imported urea has not yet reached farmers, who were supposed to receive supplies for planting the current wheat crop. Now, the food security ministry is expecting the delivery of imported urea to farmers either by the end of February or March, which will available to them in May for next crop cultivation. Earlier, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had decided that fertiliser manufacturers would lift stocks of imported urea from NFML storages to provide it to farmers at the basket price. However, the mechanism has not yet been finalised and the commodity is still stuck at NFML warehouses. The...

The global debate on the perceived potential versus the actual value delivery by 5G has recently intensified, with some advanced economies expressing concerns that the technology has fallen short of expectations. This analysis delves into the experiences of tech conglomerates globally, exploring the current state of 5G readiness, assessing its commercial relevance as well as actual consumer utility for Pakistan. Denis O’Brien, the Chairman of Digicel Group, which operates in 25 markets globally, calls 5G a disaster for telecom companies due to “the absence of a compelling business case”. He believes unless over-the-top companies, responsible for two-thirds of Internet traffic, actively contribute to the network capital expenditures of telecom operators, the rollout of future technologies is not possible. The financial intricacies are further underscored by Moody’s Investors Service, which says the world’s largest wireless companies carried $1.211 trillion of corporate debt at the end o...

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has announced a significant uptick in the prices of re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG), registering an increase of up to 10.11% for the month of December 2023 compared to the preceding month. This adjustment, according to OGRA, is primarily linked to a notable surge in the delivered ex-ship (DES) price. In an official statement, OGRA clarified that the revised RLNG prices would be applicable retrospectively from December 1, 2023. This development impacts consumers served by both the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL). For consumers of the SSGC, the new RLNG price has been set at $15.4524 per metric million British thermal unit (mmbtu), showcasing a considerable increase from the previous month's rate of $14.0337 per mmbtu. This marks a hike of $1.4187 per mmbtu, translating to a 10.10% increase. At the transmission stage, OGRA has authorized the SSGC to charge $13.2640 per mmbtu for Dec...

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Tuesday indicated that it would allow the ex-Wapda distribution companies (XWDISCOs) as well as K-Electric (KE) to transfer the burden of Rs22.92 billion to their consumers on account of the adjustment for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24 The regulator conducted a public hearing on the petition of the XWDISCOs to increase the power tariff by Rs1.25 per unit. The petition was filed on account of the quarterly adjustment for the period spanning from July to September 2023. The increase in tariff, if approved, will be charged from the consumers in their utility bills for December 2013 and January-February 2024. Nepra Chairman Waseem Mukhtar headed the proceedings in the presence of the authority’s members including Mathar Niaz Rana from Balochistan, Maqsood Anwar Khan from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Amina Ahmed from Punjab, and Rafique Ahmad Shaikh from Sindh. The regulator did not give its firm decision, but according to Ne...

Despite pending litigation in the international court of arbitration and the objection raised by the Law Division, the caretaker government has granted in-principle approval for changing the name of Tuwairqi Steel Mills Limited to National Steel Complex Limited. However, the approval is subject to endorsement by the Law Division. In a summary moved by the Ministry of Industries and Production, it was claimed that the Law Division had endorsed the proposal of changing the name of Tuwairqi Steel Mills to National Steel Complex. However, during a recent meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), it was pointed out that the Law Division had not yet endorsed the proposal. The Ministry of Industries told the ECC that Tuwairqi Steel Mills, a subsidiary of Al-Tuwairqi Group of Companies of Saudi Arabia, was notified as a unit of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) on October 15, 2005. Tuwairqi Steel started production in early 2013 but it went into shutdown mode in September 2013 due t...

The government has proposed to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) a potential increase of Rs3.55 per unit in power tariff, with an aim of recouping the elevated amount within a span of six months. This measure seeks to prevent a decline in the collection of electricity bills. Previously, the Central Power Purchasing Company (CPPA)-G had requested an increment of Rs5.40 per unit, accompanied by a three-month recovery period. A public hearing organised by the power regulator was told that the industrial consumers had shut down their businesses due to massive increase in the electricity rates, and therefore, the demand of ex-Wapda distribution companies (Discos) had witnessed a substantial decline. The government was concerned that consumers would not pay bills if the hike of Rs5.40 per unit was passed on to them. During the public hearing, the Power Division officials informed the regulator that consumers had refused to pay electricity bills last year following a ma...