June 25, 2008	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 20, 1429

KARACHI, June 24: Import of generators and captive power plants has been made a part of Long Term Financing Facility (LTFF) from the next fiscal year.

The State Bank of Pakistan asked banks on Tuesday to include the import of generators and captive power plants in the list of LTFF. Under the scheme soft loans at significantly low interest rates are provided to the eligible candidate.

“It is advised that effective July 1, 2008 financing for import of generators and captive power plants, to be used in the eligible sectors/sub-sectors, shall also be admissible under the LTFF facility,” the SBP said in a circular.

The inclusion of generators and captive power plants was made part of LTFF after severe power shortage in the country, especially in Karachi where many industrial units were closed down only because of short supply of electricity.

The industrial sector has been demanding regular supply of electricity to continue their production activities but the problem went beyond the capability of Karachi Electric Supply Company and Water and Power Development Authority.

A number of industrial units have already established their captive power plants to generate their own electricity. The irregular supply of electricity has been creating problem for timely delivery of exportable products.

The central bank says that the facility to import generators and captive power plant is limited to only large-scale generation of electricity and generators for household purposes are not included in the scheme.