Privatisation will save Pakistan’s power sector: Miftah

KARACHI: Former finance minister Miftah Ismail says the power sector in Pakistan should move towards the privatisation in order to solve its long-standing issues.Miftah Ismail said this during a webinar titled: “Pakistan’s Power Policies—Ensuring Access and Affordability” on Wednesday. When asked if it would be difficult to do so, the former finance minister said it was a challenge but needed to be done nonetheless. He highlighted how there has been a governance failure for the past 30 years or so in Pakistan.

“We keep repeating the same things and hoping for better results but it won’t happen. So I believe we should move towards a multiple buyer and multiple seller system,” he said, according to a press release.

He pointed out that in 2014-15, Pemra estimated the cost of installation of a gas plant at $700,000. “However, when we (the previous government) opened it up for bidding, the real figure came to around $550,000,” he said.