KARACHI: The board of directors of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) has extended the production target by two to three months, its spokesman said on Saturday.

The government had set the target of achieving 77 per cent production capacity by January 2015.

However, Shazim Akhtar said the mill could only achieve the target by March in view of delay in disbursement of amount under the bailout package every month which resulted in late procurement of raw materials from foreign destinations.

The board also felt that an additional Rs4.5 billion should be included in the bailout package announced by the government for achieving the targets set in the business plan for the mill.

The board meeting, held on Friday, was presided over by Federal Secretary Industries and Production Raja Hassan Abbas at zonal sales office in Islamabad.

Akhtar said the PSM would send the board’s recommendation to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) for formal approval in order to make business plan successful.

Another matter to be sent to the ECC for approval relates to demand of Rs8 billion from the government for repair and modernisation of the mill, he added.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2014