Pakistan Steel Mills Has to Pay Rs. 17 Billion Interest on Loan Every Year

Pakistan Steel Mills faces annual payments of Rs. 17 billion in interest on loans received from the federal government and commercial banks. This was revealed during a Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production chaired by Senator Aoun Abbas Bappi on Wednesday. Chief Financial Officer Arif Shaikh briefed the committee regarding the financial status of the money-hungry government-run entity. He detailed that the value of PSM’s movable assets is Rs. 2.12 billion, while immovable assets are valued at Rs. 858 billion. The 18,000 acres of land owned by PSM is worth Rs. 622 billion, with the plant occupying 10,000 acres and residential areas using the remaining 8,000 acres. Meanwhile, out of 500 vehicles, 358 are operational. Over the past 10 years, the loss-making state-owned enterprise (SOE) has made interest payments to the tune of Rs. 103 billion, with Rs. 104 billion still owed to the government and Rs. 38 billion owed to the National Bank of Pakistan, he added.