Costa staying at Atletico' - Caminero

The sporting director has issued a 'hands off' warning to any clubs interested in their star striker, insisting the player will remain in Madrid

Atletico Madrid sporting director Jose Luis Caminero has ruled out the possibility of prolific striker Diego Costa leaving the Vicente Calderon in January.

Speculation of a potential exit has been fuelled by the €38 million release clause within the player's contract, which he signed in August this year.

However, Caminero insists the 25-year-old, who has scored 19 goals in 17 league games, will not be leaving the club, despite interest from several parties.

“Right now, Costa does not think of leaving, he is hooked with Atletico,” he explained in an interview withMarca.

Under the management of head coach Diego Simeone, Atletico have gradually bridged the gap between themselves and city rivals Real and currently sit joint top of La Liga with Barcelona. 

Nevertheless, a regular theme in recent years has been the departure of key players – most recently the summer sale of Radamel Falcao to Monaco – but Caminero is not interested in selling more top stars.

The sporting director continued: “Diego is happy here. He just renewed his contract, demonstrating that he wants to stay here,

“He knows how this club works, money won't be a problem."

The Copa del Rey holders are through to the last 16 of this season's Champions League to face AC Milan and could be contenders for further silverware this campaign. 

Whilst Caminero rules out Costa's departure, the director does believe the club will be busy during next month's transfer window, stating "there will be changes". 

However, one area he is not worried about is the goalkeeper situation, with No.1 goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois on loan from Chelsea and Daniel Aranzubia.

He added: “We have three great goalkeepers, two of them on loan. This position is not our worry now

Diamer Bhasha: Boundary dispute threatens to stall key dam project

The ownership of the land stretched over eight kilometres is disputed between the people of Diamer and Kohistan. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: 

As a pre-emptive measure, the federal government will soon deploy security forces along the disputed territory of the Diamer Bhasha dam site. The ownership of the land stretched over eight kilometres is disputed between the people of Diamer and Kohistan.

Officials from the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan told The Express Tribunethat a letter has been written to the interior ministry asking the federal government to deploy forces in the disputed territory to avoid any clashes between the two parties.

Dispute between the two parties had worsened in the past month after the people of Kohistan blocked the Karakorum Highway for days warning to march toward Diamer claiming the dam site.

A source in the ministry of water and power stated that this boundary dispute between Khyber-Pakhtunkwa and G-B might lead to a delay in the construction of the mega dam.

“The dispute will make it difficult for the government to formally start working on the construction of the dam without settling the boundary dispute between the two parties,” said a senior official of WAPDA.  In a high-level ministerial meeting, held at the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan (KAGB), it was decided that security forces will be deployed along the disputed boundaries.

The ministers — Chaudhry Barjis Tahir, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Minister  for Inter-Provincial Coordination Riaz Pirzada, Information Minister Pervez Rashid, federal secretary KAGA, chief secretaries of GB and K-P— also decided that a neutral commission should be constituted to resolve the matter.

The issue arose after the government announced compensations for the families affected by the construction of the dam.

Following the announcement, people from Kohistan claimed that the area upstream up till the Basari check post near Chilas, fell under Kohistan’s jurisdiction. On the other hand, locals of the Diamer district maintained that the area downstream up to Harban belonged to them.

Interestingly, the disputed area is part of an unsettled territory without proper revenue records. However, historically, the disputed territory has administratively remained under the control of the G-B administration and its forces have been deployed at the Basari check post for many decades.

The government later deployed security forces on both the Basari and Harban check posts to deal with any untoward situation. The final decision on the issue will be made by the proposed commission.

Both the sides reject each other’s claims over the area, where the powerhouse of the dam is likely to be constructed.

Casillas reveals condition for Real Madrid exit

The Spain goalkeeper has hinted at a possible departure from the Santiago Bernabeu, suggesting he wants to play for a club where he would be considered No.1

Iker Casillas has dropped the biggest hint yet that his future lies away from Real Madrid.

The goalkeeper, who is currently understudy to Diego Lopez at the Bernabeu, has spoken of his desire to be first choice again at club level.

Casillas has been linked with a string of top European sides ahead of next summer's World Cup when he faces a battle to keep his position as Spain's No.1.

The 32-year-old was expected to attend a training camp in Doha - backed by the Iker Casillas Foundation - for around 20 specially selected, young goalkeepers from around the world.

But, due to the possibility of his wife, Sara Carbonero, giving birth to the couple's first child this week, he opted out after medical advice.

Casillas instead spoke to the keepers on a conference call on Friday, dispensing advice from his own experiences and passing on tips for career progression.

At the end of the discussion, he took questions from the group and was asked directly if he was interested in joining Manchester City, the Premier League club managed by his former Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini.

"I'm not going anywhere I'm going to be No.2," said Casillas, who is under contract with Madrid until 2017.

Casillas has been linked with City after Pellegrini recently dropped Joe Hart, but the England goalkeeper has since won his place back and started in the 2-1 victory against Liverpool on Thursday. 

But, intriguingly, the Spanish icon - who has a record 152 caps for his country - has left the door open for any club where he would be guaranteed to be first choice.

A gift from UAE: Pindi gets modern health facility

External views of the newly built Emirate Hospital at MH Rawalpindi. PHOTO: EXPRESS

ISLAMABAD: 

Residents of Rawalpindi and its surrounding areas are set to get a fully functional, state-of-the-art health facility soon, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The Emirates Hospital, as it is named, was said to be one of the largest health projects in Pakistan by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under its Pakistan Assistance Programme (PAP) costing $173 million.

With a total capacity of 1,000 beds, the hospital is expected to cater to over 60,000 patients in its different departments including gynaecology and a liver transplant centre.

The first phase of the hospital has already been completed at a cost of $108 million and became operational in the first week of this month.

The entire project is planned to be completed by March 2014.

Sharing the details of the project an official requesting not to be named said that the building is being constructed within the premises of the Military Hospital (MH).

The official said that the existing infrastructure of MH has deteriorated due to lack of resources and overload warranting a major reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts. Considering that the UAE government has made this grant.

“The hospital was actually a gift to the people of Pakistan from the UAE government aimed at easing the humanitarian crisis facing the country after the consecutive floods [in 2010 and 2011],” he said.

This facility will have a number of centres of excellence where difficult cases could be referred for expert opinions.

It will also have an outdoor patient department (OPD) complex, an indoor patient department, an accident and emergency department, a diagnostics centre and officers and family wards.

It will provide various kinds of diagnostic facilities such as biomedical laboratory, microscope camera system, computed radiography system, fluoroscopy digital system.

The idea behind constructing the complex which will house 17 OPDs of different departments such as gynecology, vaccine, rheumatology, pediatric surgery, rehabilitation, nephrology among others, was to bring all the consultancy services under one roof, said the official.

Previously all the OPDs were scattered over the premises which created problems for patients in terms of accessibility.

“It is hoped that the hospital will prove to be a benchmark in quality health services,” said the official.

Payments pending: KESC accuses government of reneging on promises

After taking over, the Abraaj Group has added 1,006 megawatts to the system with an investment of $1 billion. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: 

The federal government is not honouring its sovereign commitments given to the Abraaj Group, the Dubai-based firm that manages Karachi Electricity Supply Company, which may hamper future privatisation plans, say senior officials of the company.

The government was reluctant to clear outstanding dues of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) owed to KESC under the Amendment Agreement of 2009, said the company’s top managers during an interaction with journalists here on Thursday.

In addition to that, the government was not ensuring supplies of gas and delaying the clearance of Tariff Differential Claims (TDCs), they added.

Company’s Chief Executive Officer Syed Nayyer Hussain and his entire team discussed the achievements that they made, the future investment plans and the challenges being faced.

The government owed Rs63.6 billion to KESC including Rs37.8 billion worth of TDCs and Rs25.8 billion of KWSB, which is 43.6% of the total receivables held by KESC.

“To ensure that the privatisation plans are successfully implemented, the federal government should honour its commitments,” said Syed Muhammad Taha, Chief Distribution Officer of KESC.

Syed Moonis Abdullah Alvi, the Chief Financial Officer, said under the Amendment Agreement, if the KWSB does not service its liabilities within three months, these will be the obligation of the federal government.

But the spokesman for the Ministry of Finance, Rana Assad Amin, said the TDC dues were a dispute between the KESC and the National Tariff and Dispatch Company (NTDC). On the issue of KWSB, he said KESC should approach the federal adjustor for the recovery of the dues.

“KESC is the only privatised entity and any future buyer of a public sector power enterprise will surely come to us for consultation before striking a deal,” said Alvi.

The government has announced an ambitious privatisation plan under which it promises to either privatise or offload shares in 32 public entities, including power distribution companies of Islamabad, Faisalabad and Hyderabad.

“In August, I raised the issue of KWSB payments with Ishaq Dar and he responded by telling me to bring an order from the Supreme Court and the federal government will cut the outstanding amount from the National Finance Commission (Sindh’s share) and give it to KESC,” said Alvi.

The company has already served a legal notice on the government three months back. The government had also promised to give 276 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd) to KESC, but was providing far less than the committed volumes, which was affecting power generation, he added.

“We have to sit across the table and sort out things which are hampering the implementation of the agreement,” said CEO Syed Nayyer Hussain.

He said KWSB’s monthly billing was in the range of Rs625 million to Rs650 million. KESC was clearing the monthly bills of Sui Southern Gas Company in addition to paying arrears but KWSB was not paying to KESC, he added.

To a question, Zahidi said under the agreement the NTDC was bound to provide 650 megawatts of electricity until 2015. He said KESC was self-sufficient in power supply but was resorting to load-shedding as a strategic policy to reduce line losses and improve recoveries.

The KESC’s new management can claim some big achievements. After taking over, the Abraaj Group has added 1,006MW to the system with an investment of $1 billion, said Zahidi. The new management improved efficiency from 30% to 40%.

KESC has introduced drastic changes to improve financial and administrative affairs of the company and resultantly line losses have been reduced and recovery has improved a lot, said the CEO.

He said the company was ready to share its success model with other power distribution companies.

Foreign currency: With heavy debt repayment, reserves fall to $3.1b

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have been under pressure because of continuously dwindling reserves held by the SBP. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: 

Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased to $3.1 billion on December 20 as opposed to $3.4 billion a week earlier, showed data released by the SBP on Thursday.

The decline of 7.9% in the foreign exchange reserves came as a result of payments amounting to $185 million, according to a spokesman for the central bank.

Out of the payments of $185 million, external debt servicing was $162 million including $58 million repayment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other official payments amounting to $23 million.

There was no major inflow from multilateral and bilateral sources during the week, which caused the drop of $275 million in the period under review.

However, the second tranche of the Extended Fund Facility of $554 million, which was cleared after the successful completion of the first review by the IMF, was received on December 23, and hence will be reported in the next week’s reserve position.

Total liquid foreign reserves in Pakistan amounted to $8 billion on December 20, which was 5.1% less than the preceding week’s figure. Similarly, net foreign reserves held by banks other than the SBP stood at $4.8 billion, which was 3.1% less than the corresponding figure on December 13.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have been under pressure because of continuously dwindling reserves held by the SBP. They amounted to a little over $6 billion at the end of June, which reflects a decline of almost 47% in roughly six months.

The rupee has appreciated against the dollar in only two of the last 30 years (2002 and 2003) while average annual depreciation of the rupee over the same period has stood at 6.5%. However, the rupee has undergone a sharp 6% depreciation since July this year when it traded around Rs99.

Most analysts believe the recently received IMF tranche of $554 million will stabilise the foreign reserves position, but only in the short term.

Most brokerage houses expect the rupee-dollar parity to hover in the range of Rs108-112 mainly because of few major inflows in the second half of fiscal year 2013-14, despite recent statements by the finance minister claiming a reversal of trends which will see the rupee appreciate in value

Offshore handling: Pakistan’s only single point mooring completes first year

The company has laid a 15km pipeline at the seabed from the SPM to pump crude oil to its refinery. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: 

In a major positive development, Pakistan has successfully joined the club of countries with single point mooring (SPM) facilities in the deep sea to transport crude oil through a pipeline to the refineries set up along the coast.

Byco has completed the first year of successful SPM operations, which can save millions of dollars in demurrages due to quick disposal of imported crude oil.

During a visit on Wednesday to the SPM facility set up by Byco refinery, representatives of the company told journalists that the company had laid a 15km pipeline at the seabed from the SPM to pump crude oil to its refinery.

“We celebrate the completion of the first year of successful SPM operations. The first vessel, MT Arietis, was moored to the SPM on December 26, 2012 with a cargo of 67,146 tons,” Imran Farooki, CEO of Byco Terminals Pakistan Limited (BTPL) told the journalists.

“The SPM’s single largest cargo to date came on vessel MT Quetta with a quantity of 79,000 tons. Thanks to the entire Byco Terminals Pakistan team for their untiring efforts in making this project a success,” he said.

Farooki said the SPM was expected to start commercial operations in January as a Turkish-based firm had given certification to tackle the issues arising out of an oil spill. The certificate has been submitted to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).

The media people were taken to the Arabian Sea where an oil vessel was anchored about 65 km offshore, with 65,000 tons of crude oil, near the floating buoy.

The oil was being transported from the oil vessel to Byco’s oil refining complex established at the shores in Hub, Balochistan through a 28-inch pipeline, 26 metres under the sea.

Crude oil procurement head Syed Rizwan Ali Gillani gave a comprehensive briefing about this unique technology for import and export of petroleum products without getting huge oil vessels anchored at the port.

He said the SPM was not a new technology as many other countries were using it. However, this is the first such facility in Pakistan.

In reply to a question, he said the location of the SPM would curtail the distance from Middle Eastern ports by 100 nautical miles per trip, leading to further savings in freight cost.

This has been introduced for the first time in Pakistan not by a public sector refinery, but purely by private sector’s refinery Byco without involvement of guarantees.

The pumping capacity of the SPM is more than 2,000 tons per hour. “SPM is an all-weather facility, which is the cheapest entry point for liquid cargo into Pakistan,” he said, adding the SPM is equipped with night navigation facility.

Byco refinery is currently refining 35,000 tons of crude oil a day. When its new refinery starts commercial operation, its refining capacity will increase to 155,000 tons per day, more than the capacity of Parco, which stands at 90,000 tons per day