ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday announced a Rs4.4 cut electricity tariffs for industrial consumers, saying the move is aimed at lowering production costs and spurring economic activity in Pakistan.

Sharif made the announcement while addressing businessmen and exporters at a ceremony in Islamabad, at which he presented awards to business figures who made significant contributions to the national economy.

He said the government would devise all future economic policies in consultation with the business community and there was no alternative to export-driven economic growth.

“Four rupees and four paisas per unit are being reduced in electricity tariffs for industry,” the prime minister announced at the ceremony.

“If it were up to me, I would reduce it by another 10 rupees, but my hands are tied.”

The development comes as Pakistan, which has long struggled with boom-bust cycles, seeks to boost foreign investment and increase exports, navigating a long path to economic recovery under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.

The reduction in electricity tariffs for industrial consumers is expected to lower production costs that will allow exporters to offer more competitive prices in international markets, increase profit margins and encourage higher capacity utilization at factories.

The prime minister announced lowering wheeling charges for industry by Rs9 per unit, noting the country’s economy had stabilized, inflation had come down to single digits and the policy rate stood at 10.5 percent.

In Pakistan, wheeling charges are fees paid by electricity consumers and generators to use the national grid’s transmission and distribution network to move electricity from suppliers to end-users under the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contracts Market (CTBCM).

“I think this should help you sell your power to neighboring industries,” he told businesspersons at the event.