ISLAMABAD, Nov 6: The Government will provide unconditional and irrevocable financial guarantee for Rs6 billion loan obtained by Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC) from various commercial banks.

This was decided by the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) held under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz here on Tuesday.

To clear the backlog of auctionable cargo at the seaport, the ECC also decided to appoint a five-member committee comprising collector appraisement nominees of Karachi Port Trust, Port Qasim, Intelligence Cell of Ministry of Communications and Special Monitoring Team to conduct examination of actionable cargo to undertake assessment, fix reserve prices and accept or reject the bids.

The finance minister urged the Committee to expedite clearance of auctionable cargoes at the Karachi Port.

According to a handout issued after the meeting, the ECC also decided to approve Model Petroleum Concession Agreement to cut delays in seeking approval for each concession agreement from the ministries concerned. The Model Petroleum Concession Agreement reflects a number of fiscal and operational incentives to the investors to attract investment in the petroleum exploration and production sector as enshrined in the new Onshore Petroleum Exploration and Petroleum Policy 2001 approved by the Cabinet in May 2001.

On the energy sector intercorporate circular debt, the ECC approved several measures to clear the backlog by netting out payments by various government entities. This will solve old issues and improve the balance-sheet of state-owned companies.

The ECC reviewed sensitive price indicator (SPI) and noted that by and large the prices of consumer items had remained stable. However, as a precaution, the meeting decided to direct the provincial governments to ensure price stability during Ramazan. It was also decided to ensure consumer quality items in the utility stores.

The ECC noted with satisfaction the increase in foreign exchange reserves, balance of payment position and volume of the exports.

The oil, wheat, fertilizer and sugar stock positions were also reviewed and the meeting expressed its satisfaction over the availability of sufficient stocks.