Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail on Friday said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would release a $1.17 billion tranche to Pakistan after its board meeting on Monday.
Addressing a press conference, the minister said Pakistan had already fulfilled all the requirements of the IMF and it is very likely that the board would approve the release of the tranche on Monday (August 29).
He said now the $4 billion gap had been bridged as Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia have also assured new investments and facility of oil on deferred payment. The minister said the visit of PM to Qatar remained successful as Qatar had agreed to make a $3 billion investment in Pakistan’s various sectors.
“The government intends to install solar power plants with a capacity of 8,000MW, as the solar energy would help generate cheaper electricity for the consumers,” Miftah said.
The minister informed that Saudi Arabia has announced a $1 billion investment in Pakistan along with the provision of oil on deferred payment. Similarly, he said UAE has also announced investment worth $1 billion primarily in government shares.
With respect to the public concerns over high electricity bills this month, the finance minister said the prime minister was very much worried over the issue. “Under IMF pressure we had to raise the prices of electricity for all kinds of consumers,” he said, adding that in May, the electricity demand was at its peak due to unprecedented hot weather and for this reason, the government had to run even the most expensive power plants run by the furnace oil which cost around Rs59 per unit.
