PAKISTAN-Difficult Passage

public power sector suffers from a series of structural bottlenecks which if removed could lead to substantial power saving as also fresh generation. It looks as though these issues concerning the public sector power projects are not receiving the atten- tiorr they deserve. Instead, the government's preoccupation is with attracting foreign private investment. In response to the prime minister's directive that a special scheme be prepared to boost the flow of funds into the power sector, the power ministry has prepared a position paper focusing on encouragement to foreign investment. According to the power minister, the bane of the industry is the multiplicity of bureaucratic agencies that exist for clearing project proposals. Accordingly, an inter-ministry co-ordination set-up is to be constituted at the ministerial level for clearing power projects. It is apparently not realised that if similar ministerial attention were devoted to power projects in the public sector, the benefits may be more tangible.