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Perac may be scrapped

or merged with PIDC

ASHRAF KHAN

KARACHI: State Petrochemical and Petroleum Refining Corporation (Perac), is to be liquidated or possibly amalgamated with Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), it is learnt on authority.

This is yet another surprising move on the part of the authorities following the earlier decision of transferring control of the National Refinery Ltd. (NRL) from Perac to a ministry.

The board of directors of Perac discussed threadbare on Thursday the possibilities of 'dumping' the officers and staff in various organisations, under the parent ministry of Perac, the Ministry of Industries and Production.

Most likely, the Perac personnel would be placed on the strength, of PIDC, another organisation under the Ministry of Industries, sources told Business Recorder on Friday.

But, they said, the liquidation programme would depend on the fate of present Perac Chairman, Manzoor Mohsin, who is to reach superannuation by February 5 next. Any extension in his services, very much in vogue in the bureaucratic services, may delay the decision, they said.

Perac employees are said to have been flabbergasted at the move.

When asked what is unintelligible about the move, they said, the PERAC had been an efficient organisation, kept petrochemical and petroleum refining activities smoothly going for last 26 years.

On the other hand, PIDC has been a dormant concern for long after having played its role in the industrialisation of the country in the early days. PIDC itself is struggling for its survival, now a days, they said.

Enumerating the achievements of Perac, sources said the expansion of NRL into the largest refining complex goes to its credit besides establishment of other constructive organisations like Petroman; Enar Petrotech; and National Tanker Company (NTC).

The most perturbing consequence of Perac's liquidation, sources said, would be the uncertainty about the fate of Iran-Pak Oil Refinery, implementation of which would justify the corporation's continued existence. With the liquidation of Perac, the IPR project might go down the drain for one reason or the other, they said.

The refinery was one of the item on the agenda of the chief executive's recent visit to Iran where he confirmed Pakistan's commitment to implement the project.

The Perac was set up by the government of Pakistan in 1974 under the Economic Reforms Order 1972 with the mandate to develop and promote petroleum refining and petrochemical sector in Pakistan.