Government to keep an eye on production, sale of sugar

Federal Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh Monday while chairing ECC meeting approved the grant for installing the most optimal VAS solution at the sugar mills' buildings during the current crushing spell.

The ECC was also briefed about the detailed report by the Implementation Committee regarding conversion of MoUs into agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to work out on a payment mechanism for clearing outstanding payables.

The Implementation Committee has agreed the payment mechanism with the 46 IPPs to clear the outstanding dues as on 30th November 2020. The ECC endorsed the report of the Implementation Committee for working out a viable payment mechanism with the IPPs which will save roughly Rs836 billion for the Government over the usual life of the projects.

Earlier, Punjab government had blamed sugar mill owners for what it said ‘artificially’ hiking the sweetener’s price.