Lahore:
Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Aamir Tufail, said the issues related to natural gas faced by industrialists are resolved. In this respect, pending applications for new industrial gas connections and excessive prosecution complaints are addressed quickly, while a focal person will be appointed to ensure timely resolution of complaints.
Speaking to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), TUFAIL has said that where industries or industrial areas require additional gas, dedicated pipelines would be raised after their request.
He points out that domestic consumers received gas with a loss of about 40% recovery, which was one of the reasons for gas holidays and pending three million applications for new connections.
He acknowledged that the gas supply to industries was expensive and the duties reduction was beyond SNGPL’s power. However, industries can be facilitated by gas mixing. He said the industry plays a vital role in national economic growth and its growth is just as important to SNGPL, as industrial growth leads to higher gas demand.
Speaking on the occasion, LCCI’s active engineer Khalid USman underlined that natural gas was the backbone of the Pakistan industrial sector, but his reserves had been exhausted over the years, which raised various challenges for industrialists across the country.
He said natural gas comprises about 29% of Pakistan’s energy mixture and promoting alternative energy sources could allow the gas from being diverted from electricity to industrial consumption.
Khalid USman added that SNGPL’s gas losses were 5.15% in 2022-23, which decreased to 4.93% in 2023-24, noting that further improvement was possible.
However, he expressed concern that gas pressure was extremely low in many industrial areas, which results in significant production losses and financial damage to production units.
The LCCI chief observed that the restriction on new domestic gas connections is damaging the SNGPL itself. LCCI members also face unexpected gas holidays, which disturb the factory programs and prevent exporters from timely meeting orders.
“This undermines the confidence of foreign buyers. Because of such reasons, industries are transported and many have stopped businesses completely,” he said. Khalid USman suggested that natural gas pipelines be made available for industrial zones to maintain constant pressure, adding that export industries should be provided at discounted gas so that they can compete well in the world market and reduce the trade deficit.
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