Unlimited cement import allowed: ECC concerned over prices
By Khaleeq Kiani
ISLAMABAD, April 14: The government on Friday allowed unlimited import of cement at subsidised freight rates. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) presided over by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz “expressed serious concern over extraordinary rise in the prices of cement without corresponding rise in input prices of cement”.
The committee also approved import of 400,000 tons of urea for the Kharif season.
Briefing reporters after an ECC meeting, Economic Adviser Dr Ashfaq Hassan Khan said the committee allowed import of cement and clinker from all over the world, including India, through road, rail and sea routes at zero customs duty and withholding tax.
He said the government would provide Rs60 per bag freight subsidy for all cement imports irrespective of its transportation routes while the Pakistan Railways would also provide a 30 per cent concession on transportation rates and give priority to cement movement to upcountry.
Also, the ECC withdrew duty drawback on export of cement to Afghanistan to discourage exports. The committee asked the ministry of industries and production to include cement prices in the Price Control Act for taking administrative action besides exploring other measures.
The ministry was also asked to engage with the cement industry to bring its prices down to a ‘reasonable’ level.
The Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority will be asked to import cement with above incentives if it so desired for reconstruction activities.
Asked whether the government would take similar steps to check sugar prices, Dr Ashfaq said sugar prices were not on the ECC’s agenda and hence it was not discussed at all.
The ECC also allowed import of about 400,000 tons of urea for the current Kharif season.
The meeting increased the intervention price for phutti by Rs50 per 40kg to Rs1,025 from last year’s Rs975.
A committee comprising ministers for commerce, food and livestock, textile and industries was asked to meet regularly to monitor the cotton market situation.
GOMAL ZAM DAM: The ECC decided to award the contract for the construction of Gomal Zam dam to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) through negotiations on a turnkey basis. In the original bidding, the FWO had quoted the highest price of $210.23 million compared with other bids of $72.9 million, $146.3 million and $186.8 million.
The water and power ministry’s second option of awarding the contract as the fall-back arrangement through international competitive bidding was rejected by the prime minister to avoid delay in completion of the project.
An earlier contract with a Chinese consortium has been terminated.
Dr Ashfaq said the ECC did not consider any penalty against the company that had left the project in 2004.
