ISLAMABAD, Dec 27: Federal Minister for Industries and Production Jehangir Khan Tareen said on Tuesday the government was not in a hurry to privatize the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) and the process of its privatization was likely to start in March-April next year.

Replying to queries forwarded by members during the Question Hour, the minister told the Senate that the PSM had become a profit earning organization due to government’s efforts and it was high time that it was privatized.

The minister said the PSM had earned a profit of Rs4.8 billion in 2003-04 and Rs6 billion in 2004-05.

Mr Tareen said that members of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Industries and Production could visit the PSM to observe its functioning. He said the committee had already endorsed the privatization of the PSM.

Prof Ghafoor Ahmed of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) said the opposition members in the committee had not endorsed the government’s decision to privatize the PSM.

Responding to questions of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Senator Mohammad Al Brohi, the minister said that the total sale of the PSM in the year 2004-05 was Rs30.8 billion while it was Rs24.9 billion in the year 2003-04. He further said that total production of raw steel for the year 2004-05 was 979,010 tons while it was 1,029,567 tons in 2003-04.

Replying to another question of Senator Brohi, the industries minister said the PSM had purchased raw material such as iron ore and coal from various companies of Australia, India, Iran and Canada in the last two years.

Meanwhile, according to a Senate Secretariat handout, the Senate’s Standing Committee on Industries and Production in a meeting on Tuesday supported the privatization of the PSM.

Mr Tareen assured the committee members that the privatized PSM would be an efficient unit and would continue to meet country’s demand for steel products in future also.

The standing committee, with Senator Mohammad Akram in chair, was informed that the PSM was the first integrated iron and steel works of Pakistan which was set up with techno-economic collaboration of the former USSR and incorporated as a private limited company in the public sector.

The committee was told that the performance of the PSM had followed a chequered pattern since its commissioning and that there were many ups and downs, at time there were apprehension that the mill would close down. However, the government initiated restructuring exercise with a view to salvage the sinking ship of Pakistan Steel and the results were highly satisfactory.

As a result of financial restructuring the PSM was able to pay off the principal amount of Rs11.35 billion out of the accumulated long-term liabilities of commercial banks amounting to Rs19.117 billion in the year 2002-03, nine years ahead of the due date.

The committee was further informed that the PSM had a regular manpower of 20,533 in May 2000 when the voluntary retirement facility was introduced under manpower restructuring plan. The committee was informed that regular manpower presently stood at 12,987.

The members of the committee were generally in support of privatizing the industrial units and remarked that privatization of industrial units paved the way for the country’s progress. They were of the view that since the international steel market was bullish, it was the most opportune time to privatize the PSM.

Some of the committee members, however, expressed the view that since the PSM was a strategic unit, they should not go for its privatization in haste and that interest of the country and labourers should be kept in mind while privatizing it.

The meeting was attended by Senators Syed Dilawar Abbas, Wali Mohammad Badini, Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli, Mohammad Amin Dadabhoy, Ahmad Ali, Saadia Abbasi, Ilyas Bilour, Dr Akbar Khawaja and Prof Ghafoor Ahmed.