LAHORE – Criticising another 5-day gas suspension to industry in Punjab, the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said the decision would hit exports, productivity and government revenues hard. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani should intervene and help ensure regular supply of gas to industries.
In a joint statement issued here on Saturday, LCCI President Shahzad Ali Malik, Senior Vice President Sheikh Mohammad Arshad and Vice President Sohail Azhar said that the gas suspension plan would have a very negative impact on entire industrial sector that was already passing through challenging times due to acute shortage of electricity and bad of law and order situation.
The LCCI office-bearers said that not only exports and productions would nose-dive but the graph of unemployment would also go up as a large number of industrial units would be left with no other option but to close down their operations if gas suspension plan was not shelved.
“How the industry would be able to manage export orders worth millions of dollars when there is no gas? What about the thousands of daily wagers who have a single source of income? And above all, they added, how the government would convince both the local and foreign investors for investment when it is unable to manage the supply of gas to existing industrial units.”
They said that the decision would send a very negative signal to foreign buyers. “Instead of coming up with some sort of relief package, the industry is being pushed to the wall. The gas curtailment or disconnection is tantamount to throttling the industry to death.”
The LCCI office-bearers said that it seemed that some elements in the gas department were hatching conspiracies against the Punjab to deprive it much needed revenue. They said that they were unable to understand that why the business community was not taken into confidence over industry-related issues and if the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) was facing some supply related issues they must bring them to the notice of stakeholders well ahead of time.
The LCCI office-bearers said that the solution for increasing demand for gas lies in importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) therefore the government should expedite work Mashal Project aimed at importing LNG. They said that for Pakistan, the importance of LNG could hardly be overemphasised.
LCCI urges uninterrupted gas supply to industries
