Month: December 2023

Pakistan beyond COP28

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COP28

Every United Nations Climate Change Conference – or COP – carries the weight of expectation, the pressure to inch closer to a sustainable and climate-resilient future. COP27 delivered the Loss and Damage Fund, a vital lifeline for communities already bearing the brunt of a changing climate. COP28, which came at the heels of the warmest year recorded in human history, witnessed a different kind of milestone – the mention of “fossil fuels” in the final text, a first in nearly three decades. But the euphoria quickly dimmed upon closer inspection.…

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Oil ends 2023 down 10%, faces headwinds in 2024 from Middle East conflict

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oil-and-gas

LONDON: Crude futures lost over 10 percent in 2023 in a tumultuous year of trading marked by geopolitical turmoil and concerns about the oil output levels of major producers around the world. Brent crude on Friday, the last trading day of the year, settled at $77.04 a barrel, down 11 cents or 0.14 percent. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $71.65 a barrel, down 12 cents or 0.17 percent. Both contracts slipped more than 10 percent in 2023 to close out the year at their lowest year-end levels since…

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$382m ‘Karachi Mobility Project’: WB rates implementation progress as ‘moderately unsatisfactory’

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Karachi-Mobility-Project

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has rated the overall implementation progress of the “Karachi Mobility Project” worth $382 million, as moderately unsatisfactory. The bank’s official documents revealed that the effective date of the project was November 26, 2019, however, only $18.88 million i.e. 4.9 per cent of the total $382 million was disbursed so far. The implementation of the project has accelerated, especially following the hiring of the project management’s core team. Recruitment of additional staff to support the Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA) and public-private partnership (PPP) transaction service is…

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Atif Ikram elected FPCCI president

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fpcci

KARACHI: Majority of candidates nominated by United Business Group (UBG) and Businessmen Panel Progressive (BMP) succeeded in the elections of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) for the term of 2024-25. According to unofficial results issued on Saturday late night, the UBG and BMP Progressive bagged all the leading seats including the slots of the president and the senior vice president. The UBG’s presidential candidate Atif Ikram Sheikh was unofficially elected, defeating Muhammad Ali from BMP. FPCCI elections: Sheikh says various chambers, trade bodies have announced…

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Alleged violation of laws: Sacked MD of NTC to face disciplinary proceedings

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Pakistan-Telecommunication

ISLAMABAD: The sacked Managing Director, National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) is to face disciplinary proceedings for allegedly violating prescribed laws before assuming charge as Chairman NTC, well-informed sources told Business Recorder. The Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication (MoI-T&T) submitted a summary to the Cabinet stating that National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) was established under Section 41 of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-Organization) Act, 1996, for provision of telecommunication services within Pakistan on a non-exclusive basis only to the armed forces, defence projects, Federal Government, Provincial Governments or such other Government institutions as the…

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Coal procurement process: Lucky Commodities lodges complaint with minister

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coal

ISLAMABAD: M/s Lucky Commodities is said to have lodged a complaint with caretaker Minister for Power and Petroleum, Muhammad Ali on coal procurement process for Sahiwal imported coal-fired power plant, In a letter to caretaker Minister, the company referred to a bidding document dated November, 2023, floated by Huaneng Shandong Ruyi (Pakistan) Energy (Private) Limited for procurement of coal for its coal-fired power plant in Sahiwal, with a bid deadline set for November 29, 2023. The company argued that it seems this tender may be inclined to favor a single…

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Miseries of energy consumers continue to mount

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power-supply

Electricity, gas and oil prices go through the roof, forcing consumers to cough up billions ISLAMABAD: The year 2023 brought unprecedented pain to consumers as energy prices went sky high with no imminent relief in sight. The government jacked up prices of electricity, oil and gas to historic highs, fuelling a wave of inflation that sent prices of goods, particularly food items, soaring. To add to the woes, the outgoing year saw no major investment in the energy sector. Though the government made big promises, no investment plan could materialise.…

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Nepra approves Rs1.72 per unit hike for KE consumers

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Nepra-KE-1

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Friday approved a hike of around Rs1.72 per unit for K-Electric (KE) consumers on account of quarterly adjustments for electricity consumed in the second and third quarters of 2023. In its notification for adjustment in electricity rates of KE, Nepra said the tariff increase would apply to all consumer categories except lifeline consumers. The notification said there were two components to the tariff hike: Rs0.47/unit to be recovered for April, May and June and Rs1.25/unit to be recovered for July, August and September. It…

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Senate panel wants LNG imports by private parties

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lng

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum recommended to the government on Friday that private parties should be allowed to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) which would not only improve its availability but would also bring down prices through competition. The committee met in the Parliament House under the chairmanship of Senator Mohammad Abdul Qadir who recommended that officers from the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) reach out to international companies and encourage them to invest in the energy sector of Pakistan. Mr Qadir said that since 2015, the government…

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2023 a satisfying year for WAPDA hydel generation, under construction projectsWAPDA generates 34 billion units hydel electricity; 2.2 billion more than last year WAPDA achieves major milestones on under construction projects

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December 29, 2023: The outgoing year 2023 has been a satisfying year for hydropower and water sectors in Pakistan. The country witnessed increased generation of hydel electricity, while under-construction WAPDA projects in water and hydropower sectors also achieved major milestones in 2023.WAPDA generated about 34 billion units of low-cost, clean and green hydel electricity in 2023, which is 2.2 billion units more than that of the last year.This increased hydel generation helped national exchequer save about Rs. 106 billion, if same quantum of electricity was to be generated through expensive,…

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