Month: February 2023

The development of C-5, which is the fifth unit of the Chashma Nuclear Power Generating Station, has hit a snag because of the reported refusal by the Ministry of Finance to furnish a sovereign guarantee, sources told Dawn on Monday. The Chinese partner has agreed to provide financing for up to 85 per cent of the $3.7 billion nuclear power plant having a nameplate capacity of 1,200 megawatts, subject to the sovereign guarantee. Such guarantees are meant to assure the creditor that the government will satisfy the obligation if the…

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The government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday began discussions on the country’s economic and fiscal policies and the reforms required to complete the much-delayed ninth review of a $7 billion loan programme. A delegation of the international money lender led by IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter held a meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and other officials at the Finance Division in Islamabad. The meeting was also attended by IMF Resident Representative Esther Perez Ruiz, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr Aisha Ghous Pasha, SAPM…

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Pakistan could face a crunch in fuel supplies in February as banks have stopped financing and facilitating payments for imports due to depleting foreign exchange reserves, traders and industry sources said. The country is facing a balance of payments crisis and the plummeting value of the rupee is pushing up the price of imported goods. Energy comprises a large chunk of the import bill. Pakistan typically meets more than a third of its annual power demand using imported natural gas, prices for which shot up following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.…

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Islamabad: On 31 January, chapter one of the series, ‘Busting the Myths’, was published by Renewables First (RF), an energy and environment think-tank. The research claims to bust myths about renewable sources and their integration into the energy mix of Pakistan. The first chapter explains the reality behind the myths about baseload energy and the need for transition to renewable sources in Pakistan. There is a widespread misperception that using renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar energy, will make the electrical system less reliable. This idea, called the…

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Recently around 41 innocent people were burned alive in a bus on Quetta-Lesbela Road.🚑🚒 It is unfortunate that while our priorities are to spend millions on Motorways and Orange/ Red Lines in other provinces, main RCD highway of Baluchistan (which connects Karachi to Afghanistan via Chaman and Iran via Taftan) is still single carriageway and is prone to many traffic accidents and loss of precious lives.No one in this country has bothered to give this God forsaken province decent highways. 😑🚦🇵🇰 Fact is that they have ruined the economy and…

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