Pakistan to sell LNG plants to Qatar in desperate attempt to avert default

ISLAMABAD – As the sword of default hangs over cash-strapped Pakistan, the government has decided to sell two LNG-fired plants, Express News reported.

The report claimed that the two power plants, which were taken up during Nawaz Sharif's tenure in tandem with building the first LNG terminal, were put on an active list for privatisation to raise an estimated $1.5 billion.

A new cabinet committee of the Sharif-led government approved selling the plants owned by the National Power Park Management Company Private Limited on a priority basis after the recent meeting to remove power plants from the privatisation programme.

It was also reported that the Board of the Privatisation Commission issued no statement to keep the matter under wraps, contrary to previous events as press statements were usually issued after such meetings.

Last year, the Sharif-led government approved an order to sidestep all the prerequisites for the process and also abolished regulatory checks including the applicability of relevant laws.

The development comes as South Asian country is facing a threat of default in wake of the delay of the revival of the International Monetary Fund programme (IMF). The country’s official foreign exchange reserves have also nosedived.