LAHORE: The gas supply to general industrial sector in Punjab was partially restored for two days a week by Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited on Wednesday after a lapse of around four months, said an official announcement on Wednesday.

Industry sources, however, claimed the gas was not restored to all industrial units even after 12noon as SNGPL officials remained busy in meetings to initiate the restoration process.

According to new load management plan issued by the SNGPL, industries of Lahore, Sheikhupura and Sahiwal (Zone 1) were restored partial gas supply from 6am on Wednesday till 6am on March 20.

The gas supply shall be restored to Faisalabad, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Multan, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Islamabad and Rawalpindi (Zone II) from 6am on March 20 to 6am on March 22.

For textile sector, textile captive power shall get gas for six hours daily and textile processing industry shall get 25 per cent of their allocated load on a daily basis. Rest of the industrial units shall follow above schedule.

The new gas load management plan did not give any time frame to restore gas to CNG stations in 11 Punjab regions.

Shahid Hassan Sheikh, who is former Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry and carpet manufacturer, said though SNGPL officials promised gas supply to the carpet industry for wool dyeing process, the gas was not restored till 12noon.

He said industrial sectors of plastic, steel, food, carpet and others except textile kept relying on wood, furnace oil and husk for heating and boiling process during four months because of gas unavailability during winter.

Sheikh criticized the PML-N government for showing discrimination in gas supply to Punjab compared to Sindh where the industries availed uninterrupted gas supplies. Former LCCI president and Industrialist Mian Anjum Nisar said though the restoration of partial gas to industrial sector would provide a bit relief to multiple industries, prolonged and acute energy crisis had literally stopped industrialization process in the country, particularly in Punjab.

He said according to official figures, a Pakistani investment worth Rs445 billion had been shifted to United Arab Emirates in the last one year because of severe energy crisis. Nisar said all types of Industrial units, including textile, were operational in Sindh but in Punjab a majority of industry faced energy crisis during winter.

He said the gas suspension to industrial sector of Punjab for five months had led to business losses to the tune of billions and rendered a good number of workers jobless

Nisar said the import of only 450mmcfd LNG to overcome energy shortages for Punjab industry would not extend much relief, suggesting the government to enhance import volume.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2015

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