KARACHI, Dec 24: The production activity at the country’s biggest industrial estate—Site, which houses more than 3,000 medium and large scale units is said to be suffering owing to low and inconsistent gas pressure over the last ten days.

The worst affected sector is textile as its processing units consume gas. Besides, engineering, pharmaceuticals and other hit-tech electric and electronic industries are also affected by low gas pressure.

The Site leaders said that the unstable gas pressure had interrupted their production process, which could affect their capability to meet domestic and export orders.

M A Jabbar, chairman Site Association of Trade and Industry told Dawn that gas pressure had dropped very low to one pound per square inch as against normal contracted level of eight pound per square inch resulting in closure of many manufacturing units, particularly textile processing units.

He further said that almost all the industries consumed gas for processing engineering products and the non-supply of gas has added another wound to the injury of the industry, which is already confronted with numerous problems.

The Site association chief accused the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) of ignoring the biggest industrial estate of the country and said the utility even did not bother to notify or inform the manufacturers of the factual position in respect of continued depression in gas pressure.

The SSGC, he said, should have given advance notice about the low pressure gas supply during a pre-identified period so that industry could have accordingly followed the economics of working by rearranging its export schedule.

Mr Jabbar lashed out at the utility’s high-ups for their maltreatment of the manufacturing sector, which contributes 20 per cent towards GDP and provides 68 per cent of total revenue to the nation.

He was also highly critical of the performance of Ogra and said that the regulator appears to have spared the SSGC from its obligations towards consumers’ interest. It has singular interest of announcing increase in gas tariff, he added.

The SSGC, through petition filed for tariff increase, has always been rewarded and only in recent years the gas tariff has increased from Rs182.09 in 2004 to Rs329.54 per mmbtu in 2008. There was a recent hike of 31 per cent during 2007-08 and the utility is expecting another favour from Ogra to the detriment of industry.

Mr Jabbar said that since Dec 15 there had been only one pound per square inch of contracted pressure in the Site industrial area resulting into accumulation of losses to the industry in the present economic times.