ISLAMABAD Mar 21: The federal ad-hoc Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday asked the government to review and streamline its policy towards public sector units, which have piled up accumulated losses up to Rs22 billion.

The committee, which reviewed the audit reports for the financial year 1999-2000 pertaining to ministry of industries and production, discussed various industrial units which had become unviable due to accumulation of losses for the last several years.

Chairman PAC, H.U. Baig presided over the meeting, which was attended by the members, representatives of audit and the ministries concerned.

According to the list produced before the committee, Ravi Rayon suffered accumulated loses of Rs1,044 million till June 30, 2000, losses of Hazara phosphate fertilizer were estimated at Rs47.319 million, Pak-American fertilizers Rs1303 million, Dir Forest Industries Complex Rs321.037 million, Mustehkam cement suffered losses of Rs1657.219 million, Heavy Electrical Complex losses stood at Rs477.472 million, and Heavy Mechanical Complex at Rs2577.716 million, till June 30, 2001.

Similarly, Pakistan Engineering Company suffered losses of Rs1208.321 million, Spinning Machinery Company losses stood at Rs556.65 million, Federal Chemical and Ceramics Corporation has suffered Rs227.487 million, Republic Motors with Rs46.207 million, TDC Vehicles Engineering Rs300 million, Larkana Sugar Mills suffered a loss of Rs714.18 million, and Utility Stores Corporation Rs1354 million.

The committee was told that all these units were rendered unviable because of mismanagement, gross financial violations and misappropriations.

The accumulated losses of the Pakistan Steel had crossed Rs10 billion figure, which stood at Rs9326.288 million till June 2000 besides other industrial and training institutions.

The committee also took serious notice of the loss of Rs19.228 million sustained by Pakistan Automobiles Corporation (PACO) during the year under review. It was told that the existence of PAC remains no more useful after the privatization of all its subsidiary units except for Sindh Engineering limited remaining with it.

PACO, however, told the committee that PACO had helped in increasing automobile spares manufacturing and it had attained the target of 85 per cent components of two wheelers requirements manufacturing in the country.

The country, he said, had exported automobile components worth $37 million last year.