The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Monday approved wheat stocks for all recipient agencies, set up a committee to negotiate a settlement on the redevelopment of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, and allowed international oil suppliers to store petroleum products in Pakistan for later domestic sale or re-export. In another development, Oman has extended a $200 million deferred-payment facility for petrol and high-speed diesel imports.
The ECC met on Monday at the Finance Division under the chairmanship of Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb. It considered and approved a summary regarding the provision of PASSCO's wheat stocks to all recipient agencies at a ratio of 85 per cent local and 15 per cent imported wheat. The proposal was based on a recommendation of the Board of Directors of PASSCO to ensure the timely disposal of imported wheat stocks.
Sources said the imported wheat, usually sourced from Ukraine or Russia, was being blended with local wheat stocks to enable easy consumption by domestic customers. The committee also approved a negotiating committee for the redevelopment of the Roosevelt Hotel in coordination with the union and a government guarantee of $153.855 million, equivalent in Pakistani rupees, based on a term sheet agreed between PIA Investment Management Company Limited and the National Bank of Pakistan.
The ECC also approved a proposal for a Technical Supplementary Grant of Rs7,797.160 million submitted by the Water Resources Division for the Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply Scheme (K-IV Project). The amount was remitted by the Government of Sindh from the Provincial Consolidated Fund through the Federal Consolidated Fund. It further approved a proposal for a Technical Supplementary Grant of Rs567.032 million, submitted by the Interior and Narcotics Control Division out of the savings of the Finance Division, to Frontier Corps Balochistan (South) for the smooth and secure implementation of Reko Diq project activities.
In a significant step towards reshaping its petroleum import and storage system, the ECC approved the Policy Guideline on Import on Foreign Suppliers' Account through Customs Bonded Storage Facilities-2026. This allows international suppliers to bring petroleum products into the country, hold them in customs-bonded storage, and decide later whether to sell them in the domestic market or re-export them. If implemented effectively, the arrangement could position Pakistan as a regional petroleum storage and trading hub, providing international suppliers with access to one of South Asia's major energy markets while giving Pakistan additional petroleum stocks and greater flexibility during supply disruptions.