National
April 16, 2021
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will have to pay $2.2 million this year as commitment charges on a $400 million loan from the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) extended in 2015 to Pakistan for installing Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) in LESCO and IESCO to reduce electricity theft and improve recovery through accurate billing, top official sources told The News.
They said: “However, the project was never installed in DISCOs and the government paid $1 million by 2018 as commitment charges which have now swelled up to $2.2 million.”
The PML-N government rendered the project dormant in 2018 contending that electric power distribution companies (DISCOs) had rejected the AMI project as they saw many shortcomings in it. Nonetheless, the PTI government decided to open the project when it came to power, but there has been no progress on AMI for two years and a half.
Advanced Metering Infrastructure: Pakistan to pay $2 2m for not using $400m ADB loan thenews.com.pk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thenews.com.pk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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