Sindh wants circulation of LNG Import Policy

on 19/05/2017

y of Petroleum and Natural Resources to circulate draft policies for import of LNG as mandated under Article 158 and Article 172(3) of the constitution. In a letter addressed to Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, federal minister Mr. Shah made the demand recalling the federal government approval to import LNG without Council of Common Interest (CCI) endorsement. The letter, written shortly after the CCI meeting, reads as follows: `Reference to the deliberations in the 31st meeting of CCI on May 2, wherein all the Chief Ministers confirmed the minutes of the meeting held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Law and Justice on March 3, 2017, yourself very kindly agreed to circulate the policy. `The committee made the following decisions: It is, therefore, requested to please share respective summaries for CCI along with draft policies for import of LNG and its utilization, implementation and Article 158 and Article 172(3) of the Constitution at the earliest prior to its placement before CCI for deliberations,` the letter adds. All provincial governments asserted that the LNG import is a CCI subject and therefore import policy must be approved by the council meeting. Article 172(3) says that the concerned provincial government from where oil and gas reserves are discovered would jointly manage its control along with the federal government. Article 158 of the constitution guarantees the right of a province producing gas to meet its requirement first and then share with other province, if it is in excess. On flood protection policy, he presented a notification of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto which stated that flood protection was the job of the federal government. The federal government has prepared a flood protection plan worth Rs177 billion and asking provinces to cover it. It was agreed that the provinces and federal government would share expenditures on 50:50 basis.

Yellow Line hits Snag

on 19/05/2017

Sindh government may not be able to launch its urban transport scheme ‘Yellow Line’ in time as the Chinese partner of the government is faced with problems in arranging money for the project.  Syed Nasir Shah, Sindh Transport Minister reportedly said they could re-tender the project if the company failed to mobilize funds in next three months. “It doesn’t look possible to launch it as per schedule but we have made it clear to the company that we can only give margin of another two to three months and if they still remain unable, we would re-tender the project,” said Mr. Shah. The Sindh government was preparing to launch “Red Line” of the bus rapid transit system (BRTS) in August but issues with Yellow Line might affect it too.Yellow Line project starts from Landhi to New M.A. Jinnah road covering around 26 kilometers and is to be built with an estimated cost of Rs14.4 billion. As many as 104 new buses would be put on the route. Nasir Shah vowed that the provincial government was determined to initiate the project this year and if its Chinese partner remained unable to meet the terms of the contract, it would re-launch the project “with someone else”. The Sindh government signed the agreement with the China Urban Elected Company in September 2016 for Yellow Line. As per deal, the government would share 14 per cent of the total cost and the Chinese company 16 per cent while 70 per cent would be generated by a loan from financial institutions. Disappointments as regards Yellow Line have not affected vows for Red Line which the officials claim would be launched in July. Funded by the Asian development Bank (ADB), it starts from Malir Cantt to Regal Chowk via Safoora Goth and University Road. The 27-km-long Red Line — another BRT project — would be built with an estimated cost of $184.23 million, or roughly Rs19bn. The project cost would be shared by the ADB (52pc), DFID-UK (12.62pc) and the Sindh government (34.42pc).

 

China invites India to join OBOR Project

on 17/05/2017

China always puts Pakistan first is not true: Luo Zhaohui

China’s ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui called on India to join One-Belt-One-Road project assuring his neighbor that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would not impinge on anyone’s sovereign rights. In his attempt to lure India, he also offered to change the name of the CPEC but later the official website of the embassy deleted the sentence believably to evade embarrassment.
The text of Mr. Luo’s remarks made to an Indian think-tank on 5th May at the United Services Institute said: Some people in the West misread China and tend to think that the `Dragon` and the `Elephant` are inevitable rivals, and that China would not like to see India developing. This conception is wrong. We hope to see India develop well and we are more than happy to help India develop to achieve common development.
Both the countries needed to properly manage their differences. As two large neighbors, it is natural that we have some differences. Even family members may have problems. There was a need to set a long-term vision for China-India relations,
he said suggesting they should:
First, start negotiations on a China-India `treaty of good neighborliness and friendly cooperation`.
Then restart negotiation on China India free trade agreement.
Third, strive for an early harvest on the border issue.
Fourth, actively explore the feasibility of aligning China’s `One-Belt-One-Road Initiative` (OBOR) and India’s `Act East Policy`.
The OBOR, he says is a major public product China has offered to the world. As close neighbors, China and India could be natural partners in connectivity and the OBOR. `Now the GDP of India is roughly that of China in 2004, some 13 years ago. China leads India by 13 years, mainly because we started reform and opening up 13 years earlier,
Mr. Luo said., India still has reservations over the OBOR, saying that the CPEC passes through Azad Jammu & Kashmir, raising sovereignty concerns. ’China has no intention to get involved in the sovereignty and territorial disputes between India and Pakistan. China supports the solution of the disputes through bilateral negotiations between the two countries. The CPEC is for promoting economic cooperation and connectivity. It has no connections to or impact on sovereignty issues, the envoy said. The perception that China was partial to Pakistan over others was erroneous. `Some Indian media say that China always puts Pakistan first when handling its relations with South Asia countries. I want to tell you this is not true. Simply said, we always put China first and we deal with problems based on their own merits. Take Kashmir issue for example, we supported the relevant UN resolutions before 1990s. Then we supported a settlement through bilateral negotiation in line with the Simla Agreement. This is an example of China taking care of India’s concern. On promoting India-Pakistan reconciliation, China hopes that both sides could live together in peace. `The development of China, India, Pakistan and the stability of the whole region call for a stable and friendly environment. Otherwise, how could we open up and develop? That’s why we say we are willing to mediate when India and Pakistan have problems. But the precondition is that both India and Pakistan accept it. We do this only out of goodwili.

Why Pakistan refuses ADB loan for Railway ?

on 09/05/2017

Pakistan has refused part financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the $8 billion Karachi-Peshawar Railway Line (ML-1) after China said it wanted to fund the project single-handedly. `China strongly argued that two sourced financing would create problems and the project would suffer, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has revealed. The minister said he would not comment whether the Ministry of Railways has resisted the Chinese request for fears of monopoly, but said the entire financing would now come from China. The project was originally planned to be partly funded by the Manila-based ADB. He said ADB would be accommodated in some other projects, such as those under the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation programme. Under the original plan, ADB had to provide $3.5bn for the 1,700-kilometre-long line considered the backbone of the country`s logistics connecting two major ports with the rest of the country for transporting goods and passengers. The minister said Chinese government therefore wanted that the project financing should be kept single-sourced. Pakistan and China are expected to sign a formal agreement in this regard next month. Iqbal said the Planning Commission was making efforts to maximise allocation of funds for the next year`s development programme as it would be the final year of the current government. Therefore, the government would like to complete maximum number of projects during this period so as to support the growth momentum. He said it was also important to have larger development portfolio for the next year because it would trigger activity in the construction industry on which a number of other growth oriented industries were dependent because of its potential to create jobs.

Pakistan to set up Infrastructure Bank

on 08/05/2017

Government will set up Pakistan Infrastructure Bank with a paid-up capital of one billion dollars to finance private investors in development projects, said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. “Both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and government will hold 20 percent stake each in the proposed Bank, while international organisations, such as International Finance Corporation, will have the remaining shares,” Dar told a press briefing with the Pakistani media towards the end of his current visit to Washington DC. He gave a detailed round up on the plenary sessions with the IMF and World Bank during the briefing. He was on a five-day visit to U.S. to attend the spring meetings of IMF and the World Bank. The government would soon be launching Pakistan Development Funds. The shares worth Rs100 billion of the Fund would be offered to Pakistani diaspora in order to effectively channelise their valuable remittances. Later on, the Fund’s shares would be enlisted on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. “After success of sukuk bonds, Pakistan Development Fund would be another attractive investment for overseas Pakistanis,” he added. The government is consulting with the World Bank to introduce solar energy, as a new electricity generation alternative, at a lowest cost in Pakistan. World Bank remained bullish on Pakistan’s growth prospects for the next three years, revising its earlier projection notches up on large cross-border infrastructure investment, reforms and restoration of investor confidence. The bank, in its flagship report, forecast the GDP growth in the South Asia’s second biggest economy at 5.2 percent for 2017. It added that the growth is expected to accelerate from 5.5 percent in 2018 to 5.8 percent in 2019, “reflecting improvements in agriculture, infrastructure, energy and external demand.” IMF, in its world economic outlook, forecast the country’s growth at 5 percent in 2017 and 5.2 percent in 2018, supported by ramped-up infrastructure investment. The Asian Development Bank is also bullish over the country’s economic prospects this fiscal year, upgrading its growth forecast to 5.2 percent on improved energy supply and security and rising investment. The minister said the global credit rating agencies have upgraded the rating of Pakistan from ‘negative’ to ‘stable’ and from stable to ‘positive’ over the years to an extent that the country is likely to be included in G-20 countries by 2030.