Shahbaz Rana/Business Recorder/29-01-2020

ISLAMABAD: The Privatisation Commission board on Tuesday pre-qualified 12 firms to bid for multi-billion dollar power plants and approved to hire financial advisers to sell stakes of Pakistan’s two blue-chip firms aimed at rising around Rs400 billion to meet the budget deficit reduction target. Headed by the privatisation minister, the PC Board pre-qualified all 12 parties that had submitted statements of qualifications for the acquisition of two LNG-fired power plants. Investors from Japan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and Pakistan have submitted documents. A few renowned global parties have also shown interest in acquiring the power plants. The National Power Parks Management Company Limited (NPPMCL) owns the two power plants located at Balloki and Haveli Bahadur Shah, which have a combined generation capacity of 2,453 megawatts. The government wants to sell NPPMCL in the hopes of fetching a minimum of Rs300 billion or $1.5 billion in non-tax revenue. The board has prequalified all the 12 parties and now these companies will start due diligence process, Privatization Secretary Rizwan Malik told The Express Tribune.