KARACHI, June 29: Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) entered into a long term finance facility of Rs3 billion with a syndicate of banks comprising National Bank of Pakistan , Habib Bank Limited, Muslim Commercial Bank, United Bank Limited and Standard Chartered Bank.

The Agreement was signed by Munawar B. Ahmad, Managing Director, SSGCL and representatives of the participating Banks here at SSGC's head office on June 28. The syndicate financing facility will help company in expanding its transmission capacity by 50 per cent from 1,200 to 1,800 million cubic feet per day.

The utility, as part of its five years expansion plan, will add 330,000 more customers and connect upcoming gas fields in Sindh and Balochistan. The share of natural gas in the energy mix will also consequently increase the supply of gas from presently 44 per cent to over 50 per cent, thus saving valuable foreign exchange, reducing fuel costs to the industry.

The financing will be utilized for SSGC's capital expenditure and working capital requirements envisaged in the five years system expansion plan. This transaction essentially represents one of the first such financing in Pakistan within the gas sector which is based on strong cash flow structure and will go a long way in developing gas infrastructure required for sustained economic growth, says a press release.

Munawar Baseer informed the bankers that his company was also involved in upgrading the living conditions and protecting environment in its franchise areas, especially in Ziarat (Balochistan) and the coastal areas of Karachi under its "Corporate Social Responsibility" (CSR) programme.

He said that SSGC has completed gas supply projects in Shams Pir, Baba and Bhit Islands in Karachi coastal areas to preserve the "Mangrove Forests".