ECC okays Rs2.9bn bailout package for crisis-hit Pakistan Steel Mills

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Saturday approved a three-month bailout package of Rs2.9 billion for the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM).

According to sources, Rs1.5 billion will be released in September, Rs700 million in October, while Rs700 million in November. This will include two-month salary of the workers.

The ECC, which met here with Federal Minister for Finance Mohammad Ishaq Dar in the chair, discussed a proposal for an interim relief for the Pakistan Steel Mills and decided that the Chairman Board of Investment and the Ministry of Industries should come up with a proposal for long-term solution of the problem in the next meeting.

The ECC also decided that the PSM would remain a public sector enterprise, by seeking a strategic partner with a minority stake to run its management.