ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday announced a comprehensive plan to supply electricity to the country's industrial sector at reduced rates to encourage power consumption, hoping to increase manufacturing activities and economic productivity.

He said it was unfortunate that Pakistan found it difficult to compete with other countries in the international market since the production cost was too high in the country due to the escalating power tariffs.

Under the new plan, Khan informed, small and medium industrial units would get electricity at 50 percent discount until June 30, 2021, if they utilized additional power compared to their previous consumption capacity.

Similarly, all industries would get a 25 percent discount on the basis of the same principle for the next three years.

The government also removed "peak hours" between 7pm and 11pm for industries since consumers were charged higher tariffs during that time. As the prime minister noted, "off-peak hours will last for 24 hours" from now.

He noted that Pakistan was the only country in the region that had substantially increased its exports despite the emergence of COVID-19.

Khan added that his scheme to provide relief to local industries would result in wealth creation and help the country pay off its debt.

Addressing the gathering, his adviser on finance and revenue, Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, said that the country's economy had largely stabilized due to the steps taken by the government.

He maintained that some of the major economic indicators were looking up, adding that exports had improved, tax collection and remittances had gone up, and current account surplus was increasing.