RAWALPINDI: The All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) on Sunday said gas prices would be reduced after the arrival of Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the first week of next month.

The imported LNG will benefit consumers and revive the Rs450 billion CNG industry, thereby reducing the oil import bill, pollution and unemployment, APCNGA supreme council chairperson Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha said.

In a statement issued on Sunday, he said the LNG import at the rate of less than $5 per MMBTU is a great achievement for the government and would prove to be a game changer for the economy.

Mr Paracha said the deal would reduce the energy crises and ensure rapid national development. He said it would help power plants, CNG, fertiser, textile and the value-added sector and would save the government $1 billion per annum.

Mr Paracha said APCNGA has been trying to keep the cost of LNG-based CNG 30pc lower than the cost of petrol, since the deal is one of the most important agreements brokered by the government.

He said the impact of LNG on the economy would be felt before the impact of the economic corridor.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2016