ISLAMABAD, July 29: The Ministry of Industries and Production has deferred the proposal to revamp Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) until the Council of Common Interest (CCI) takes any decision as regards its privatisation.

On June 23, the Supreme Court had cancelled the PSM privatisation and referred the issue to the CCI.

Informed sources told Dawn on Saturday that the ministry “considered and processed” the proposal by the PSM management. However, the ministry believed that the revamping of the mills should not be allowed till the outcome of the CCI meeting expected to be held in the second week of August, added the sources.

The Privatisation Commission (PC), they said, was urgently sending a detailed summary to the CCI on the latest status of the steel mills.

A senior PC official, when contacted, said as soon as a detailed judgment of the apex court came, the PC would adopt the new course of action about the privatisation of the steel mills. He also confirmed that the PC had returned 25 per cent earnest money (about Rs5.2 billion) deposited by the three bidders of the steel mills viz, Russian Magnitogorsk, Saudi Al Tuwariqi and Arif Habib Securities.

The official said that since the privatisation of the steel mills had been annulled by the Supreme Court, there was no justification for the PC to continue to keep the deposited money of bidders with it.

Eager to utilise the breathing space provided by the Supreme Court, the steel mills management, however, wanted the revamping done urgently, even a possible expansion at a later stage.

The revamping proposal, earlier sent to the Ministry of Industries and Production, contained various options including the expansion of the mills from 1.1 million tons to 1.5 million tons. The PSM also drew the attention of the ministry to “serious implications” in case the revamping was delayed.

The steel mills management believed that the revamping and expansion would help the government get a better price as and when the mills was put up for privatisation again, after deliberations at the CCI level.

Sources said official quarters were cognizant of the fact that the mills was fast deteriorating and needed immediate repair.