ISLAMABAD: Minister for Infor-mation and Broad-casting Shibli Faraz on Monday said new agreements with the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) would be made to manage the loss of previous expensive agreements. Addressing a press briefing along with Minister for Industries Hammad Azhar, he said the government was focused on improving the performance of state institutions, including the power sector.
He said revamping the power sector of the country had seminal importance in strengthening the economy of the country. The information minister said those expensive agreements were not sustainable and their only purpose was to get kickbacks from the investors and people had to bear the burden of expensive electricity.
The minister said under new renewable energy policy of the government, focus had been shifted to energy mix to produce more energy from indigenous sources. Responding to PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif's diatribes against the PTI, he said opposition was responsible for the destruction of various institutions.
While declaring Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) responsible for the current situation of Pakistan, he said the people had rejected them. The minister alleged that the opposition's only agenda was making money, and they had weakened every national institution to make money.
Faraz went on to say that their government had signed expensive power deals with Independent Power Producers (IPPs). "The agreements with the IPPs were being reviewed," he said, and added the PTI government had started generating cheap electricity.
He said: "In the past, the value of the dollar was artificially maintained. They did everything that benefited them. The former government sucked the blood of the people."
Hammad Azhar said due to tough and timely decisions of the government, foreign exchange reserves were now stable, and current accounts deficit had reduced to just three billion rupees. The minister said as compared to other regional countries Pakistan's economy was less affected by the corona pandemic.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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