TAXILA, Dec 22: Federal Minister for Privatisation and Investment, Industries, Production and Special Initiatives Jahangir Khan Tareen has said that the government will devise a strong policy for the revival of public-sector industries, and issue Rs5 billion for the Pakistan Steel Mills, Pakistan Machine Tool Factory and Heavy Mechanical Complex.

Talking to newsmen at the HMC Club here on Friday, the minister said the government had not changed its privatisation policy but excluded a few organisations from its privatisation programme in view of their strategic, commercial and technical importance.

The government would protect public-sector industries, but the industries too would have to show improvement, he said.

He said the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCOP) was held on Thursday in which Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz agreed to exclude the HMC from the privatisation programme for its strategic location near the Pakistan Ordnance Factories, Heavy Industries Taxila, Heavy Mechanical Complex-III, Heavy Electrical Complex, Project Management Origination and Hattar Industrial Estate.

Mr Tareen said that in the wake of the CCOP decision, the ministry of industries and production decided to restructure the HMC within three months.