KARACHI, Aug 16: Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd (SSGCL) will commence gas supply to Nooriabad Industrial Estate from August 21.

Initially the company will supply gas to 13 industries for power generation out of them three — Sapphire Textile, Premium Textile and Huffaz Seamless Pipes — are the forerunners, SSGCL said on Friday.

Fifteen more industrial units will be supplied gas in the next three to five years.

Sindh Governor Mohammedmian Soomro will be the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony.

The SSGCL had completed this project on priority basis in compliance with Chief Executive’s directives.

The pipeline construction activities were started in May 2001. The project involved laying of 23-km of transmission spur and 10.2 kms of distribution network within industrial estate and area at an estimated cost of Rs256 million.

According to sources in Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (SITE), Nooriabad has started receiving enquiries for setting up units from leading industrialists since the completion of gas supply and 250 acres had been allotted to leading textile manufacturers a month back. Site Ltd had developed tubewells at Site Nooriabad and presently 0.8 MGD water is being supplied against the present requirement of about 2.5 to three MGD.

A scheme for transportation of five MGD of water through pipeline from Keenjhar Lake to Nooriabad has been prepared and submitted to the Sindh government.

A total of 405 plots have been allotted in Nooriabad out of which 93 are utilized and 45 are in production (textile, chemicals, food, pharmaceuticals, paints, garments and engineering). Around 35 units have become sick. A total of 13 units are under production.