Pakistan's power sector indigenization need of the hour: Awais Leghari
LAHORE: Federal Minister for Energy (Power Division), Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari said on Saturday that government is striving for exports-oriented economy instead of imports and power sector indigenization is need of the hour.
He added that power sector reforms are going on, while independent system and market operator has been fully functional and Energy Infrastructure Development and Management Company will also be made functional soon.
He was addressing through a video link the national consultative workshop on 'Power Sector Indigenization Road Map' jointly hosted by National Grid Company (NGC), formerly NTDC, and LUMS (Lahore University of Management Sciences) Energy Institute here at the LUMS campus.
The event brought together senior leadership from the power sector, manufacturing industry, regulatory bodies, policymakers and academia to chart a cohesive national strategy for accelerating the localization of Pakistan's electrical power equipment manufacturing ecosystem.
The Federali Minister commended the joint initiative, stating, 'NGC is the first national entity to implement an approved Indigenization Policy, and its strategic procurement model is already delivering tangible results'.
He urged WAPDA, DISCOs (Distribution Companies), KE (Karachi Electric), and state-owned and private power generation plants to adopt indigenization as a strategic imperative—not as CSR, but as a core procurement principle aligned with the National Electricity Plan 2023–2027.
A key milestone of the workshop was the launch of Pakistan's first Power Equipment Manufacturing Dashboard, developed by the LUMS Energy Institute with input from power sector stakeholders. This real-time digital tool will monitor localization progress, assess vendor capacity, and identify strategic investment opportunities under the Power Sector Indigenization Plan (PSIP). The dashboard was jointly inaugurated by Dr. Fiaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Chairman NGC Board of Directors, and Senior Advisor at the LUMS Energy Institute, Pakistan Engineering Council Chairman Engineer Waseem Nazir, Managing Director NGC Engineer Muhammad Waseem Younas, CEO K-Electric Syed Monis Abdullah Alvi and others.
About the Dashboard, Federal Minister said that the launch of this dashboard is a welcome step and it will help in power sector indigenization.
Dr Fiaz Chaudhry stated, 'NGC's indigenization strategy—anchored in policy reform and targeted educational orders—has already saved over USD 10 million in foreign exchange through import substitution.'
He reaffirmed that LUMS will continue supporting policy design, digital innovation, and institutional transformation in the energy sector. Pakistan's market for static transmission and substations is currently valued at around USD 8 million. This figure, however, does not reflect the true scale of our potential. 'We must work to expand this market at least threefolds through strategic development, innovation, and local industrial growth.
At the same time, we should set a clear target of achieving no less than USD 16 million in exports from this sector. That is the level of ambition we must embrace to position ourselves competitively on the global stage,' he maintained.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
PALSP team informs Aurangzeb: Tariff cut will result in closure of steel industry
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers has warned the government that reduction in tariff of finished steel under the garb of tariff rationalisation will result in closure of the domestic steel industry. These views were expressed by leadership of PALSP in a meeting held with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and his team on Tuesday. They said this measure will be most detrimental at a time when there is demand decline due to large-scale closure of construction activity in the country. This will result in loss of jobs, loss of government revenue and above all a drastic increase in import bill by one billion USD. Steel industry seeks a 'viable and clear' tax policy If the government opts for any reduction in tariffs on finished or semi-finished steel products (bars or billets), it will result in de-industrialisation and permanent closure of steel industry, as well as, massive unemployment in the country. PALSP members highlighted the detrimental effects of tariff rationalisation on the steel industry's survival, with over 60% of steel units already closed and others operating at small fraction of their capacities. PALSP proposed linking tariff rationalisation to key performance markers that reduce the cost of doing business (CoDB) and enhance global competitiveness. Steel industry urged the minister to consider postponing tariff rationalisation plan for a period of one year or until the industry's situation normalises. PALSP members emphasised that with current high cost of doing business a 35% tariff is required for the local industry to maintain a level playing field compared to imports; furthermore, given the low-capacity utilisation in the current economic turned down a protection of at least 15% is further required. The total protection on imports of steel bars/ steel bars should not be less than 50% in any case. PALSP members exhorted that at this point in time, any reduction in duties/ tariffs would open flood-gates to millions of tons of steel that is lying surplus in other countries who are leading steel producers, due to the ongoing tariffs wars between the leading economies of the world. It was also highlighted that Pakistan's steel industry consumes nearly 4 billion kWh of electricity annually and contributes over Rs. 200 billion in government revenue. A decline or closure of industry will significantly reduce this contribution and simultaneously escalate capacity payments, placing additional strain on the energy sector and aggravating the circular debt crisis. PALSP members highlighted that Pakistan's steel industry is one of the most efficient in the world. During the last 7 to 10 years, the domestic steel industry installed plants with technologies from Italy, Germany, China and Turkey; hence, making them optimum for cost effective. However, high CoDB, particularly sky high electricity rates, high gas rates and similarly high interest rates/ financial cost are the primary factors hindering its growth and export potential. Steel being an energy-intensive industry, where electricity accounts for 65% of production costs, is severely impacted by exorbitant electricity rates. However, the Finance Minister acknowledged the need to address the issue high power and gas costs in the country. He also noted the global trend of tariff wars. PALSP also urged the government to maintain present sales tax with exemption on local supplies of steel scrap to prevent fake & flying invoices and tax evasion. Industry said that any reversal of the policy, shall re-introduce menace of flying and fake invoices culture in the steel sector. The meeting was attended by senior government officials and PALSP members, including Abbas Akberali, Patron-in-Chief of PALSP, Javaid Iqbal, Chairman of PALSP, Senator Nauman Wazir Khattak, Chairman FF Steel and Wajid Bukhari, Secretary General PALSP. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Express Tribune
Currency exchange rates updated as of 27 May 2025
Listen to article The Pakistani rupee (Rs) weakened by 12 paisa or 0.04% against the US dollar closing at Rs282.17 per USD on Tuesday. This follows the previous day's closing of Rs282.06. In the open market, the US Dollar (USD) was bought for Rs283.50 and sold for Rs284.40. The British Pound (GBP) had a buying rate of Rs382.75 and a selling rate of Rs386.70. Meanwhile, the Euro (EUR) was priced at Rs321.35 for buying and Rs324.50 for selling. The Saudi Riyal (SAR) was available for Rs75.40 for buying and Rs75.90 for selling, and the UAE Dirham (AED) stood at Rs77.10 for buying and Rs77.60 for selling. Additionally, the Australian Dollar (AUD) had a buying rate of Rs181.50 and a selling rate of Rs184.00, while the Canadian Dollar (CAD) was bought for Rs204.50 and sold for Rs207.50. The Swiss Franc (CHF) was priced at Rs342.40 for buying and Rs346.50 for selling. The Omani Rial (OMR) had rates of Rs733.75 for buying and Rs741.00 for selling, and the Bahraini Dinar (BHD) was available for Rs748.90 for buying and Rs756.40 for selling. Lastly, the Kuwaiti Dinar (KWD) had a buying rate of Rs913.00 and a selling rate of Rs922.15.
Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Business Recorder
China's yuan slips as PBOC appears to reinforce currency stability via guidance fix
SHANGHAI: China's yuan slipped against the dollar on Tuesday, as the central bank set a slightly weaker-than-expected midpoint fixing for the second day in a row, a signal that investors interpreted as an official intention to reinforce currency stability. Most emerging market currencies strengthened to reflect the broad dollar weakness, as investors anxiously awaited fresh developments in US President Donald Trump's trade policy and ongoing concerns over the US fiscal outlook. However, the yuan underperformed its peers as the central bank pivoted from preventing excess losses in the Chinese currency over the past six months to slowing yuan rallies, currency traders and analysts said. 'We believe policymakers are likely to still adopt a measured approach to appreciation like how they took on a measured approach when USD/RMB was trading higher previously,' said Christopher Wong, FX strategist at OCBC Bank. The yuan has strengthened about 1.1% to the dollar so far this month, below gains seen in other Asian currencies, such as the Korean won or Taiwan dollar. Prior to the market opening, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate, around which the yuan is allowed to trade in a 2% band, at 7.1876 per dollar, and 34 pips weaker than a Reuters' estimate of 7.1842. 'In the near term, the PBOC may turn more cautious against yuan appreciation bias if the dollar sell-off persists,' said Ken Cheung, chief Asian FX strategist at Mizuho Bank. Yuan falls to 2007 lows as US tariffs on China kick in 'In this sense, the PBOC may use the yuan fixing to smooth out yuan appreciation bias amid the dollar decline, driving the yuan basket index lower to support export sector.' The CFETS yuan basket index, a gauge that measures the yuan's strength against its major trading partners, eased to 95.8 on Tuesday and has lost about 5.6% so far this year. The spot yuan, however, has gained 1.6% versus the dollar. As opposed to a persistently strengthening bias in the official guidance fix since November, the weaker-than-expected fixing discouraged market participants from testing new highs in the yuan, said a trader at a Chinese bank. As of 0349 GMT, the onshore yuan was 0.05% lower at 7.1903 per dollar, while its offshore counterpart was down about 0.09% in Asian trade to 7.1840. Seasonal demand also weighed on the yuan, as many overseas-listed Chinese companies usually have higher foreign exchange needs to make dividend payments to their overseas shareholders between May and August. Separately, the market largely shrugged off April industrial profit data, which picked up pace, giving policymakers cause for optimism that recent stimulus efforts are helping to keep the economy afloat despite trade tensions with the United States. Investors will look to May manufacturing activity data due on Saturday for more clues on the health of the economy.
