Pakistan Steel Mills Losses to Hit Rs. 600 Billion

Losses under Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) are set to hit Rs. 600 billion, as revealed during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Industries and Production on Thursday. The breakdown of total losses includes Rs. 224 billion in direct losses and a payment burden of Rs. 335 billion. The NA Panel was briefed that PSM has encroached on 305 acres of land and it owes Rs. 258 billion to the federal government and the National Bank of Pakistan. Meanwhile, theft remains a persistent issue at the enterprise. The panel was informed that plans are underway to repurpose around 5,000 acres of PSM land into Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Foreign companies, including those from Russia, had expressed interest in operating the PSM business. The committee also learned that the steel mills’ workforce has been drastically reduced from 9,000 to 2,000 employees. Without wasting any more minutes of the session on this matter, the panel formed a sub-committee to investigate the issues plaguing the steel manufacturer.