Federal Minister for Petroleum & Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain will visit All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) today (Wednesday) to resolve the issue of gas supply to the textile industry, APTMA has stressed.
The APTMA spokesman said the industry is seeking for five days a week uninterrupted supply of gas against an arrangement of four days a week gas supply at present. He stated that APTMA Chairman Gohar Ejaz is playing an important role in the bid to revive industry and is the government for an equitable and transparent sharing of gas supply on SNGPL network.
He said the present four days a week supply to the textile industry has slashed 43 percent of textile production, hampering its potential to produce and generate exportable surplus. The APTMA spokesman said the textile industry is a major export earner of the economy, employing 15 million both directly and indirectly in the country and it is pertinent to ensure uninterrupted gas supply to save production and employment in country.
According to him, the textile industry is all set to achieve $14 billion in exports this year, as APTMA Chairman Gohar Ejaz had promised the President Asif Ali Zardari back in February while seeking free market mechanism and assurance of uninterrupted supply of electricity and gas.
He said the textile industry has the potential to achieve $20 billion exports next year provided issues concerning to energy security and its affordability is timely addressed by the government. He said the textile industry is ready to invest $1 billion per annum ahead to produce further exportable surplus.
The APTMA spokesman has appreciated the Federal Minister Dr Asim Hussain for taking interest in resolving the gas supply issue of the textile industry. He said the visit of Dr Asim Hussain would instill a new hope to grow in textile millers, waiting anxiously for reassurance of five days a week uninterrupted gas supply to the textile industry.
