PESHAWAR, Sept 27: Imdad Hussain, general manager of the Peshawar region of the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Company Limited (SNGPL), said here on Tuesday the country’s natural gas reserves were fast depleting and the gas shortfall could be controlled after the completion of the international gas supply project.

Talking at the ‘Guest Hour Program’ held at the press club, he said that with unprecedented economic growth and industrialization the natural gas resources of the country were on decline. “To meet the growing demand we will have to import the natural gas to overcome the growing shortfall,” he added.

Mr Hussain said that the company during the last financial year had conducted a survey on gas leakage in some areas of the city and its suburbs. During the survey, he said, 160 areas were checked and 50,000 leakages were identified. A similar survey was going on in Mardan, Nowshera and Charsadda districts. “The company did not charge any individual and conducted it on its own expenses,” he said.

He said that gas supply system in 15 to 20 private colonies of the region had also been replaced to control human and gas losses. Similarly, he said that 30-kilometre pipeline has been laid during the previous financial year while 40-kilometre pipeline would be laid in the current financial year.

The general manager said that 350-kilometre long gas pipeline would be laid in the current year in different areas of the province under Tameer-i-Sarhad and Khushal Pakistan programmes besides projects initiated on the special directives of the prime minister. Furthermore, he said that a 30-kilometre pipeline would also be laid for the up-gradation of the system. The project would cost Rs500 million.

The good news, he said was the approval of the gas supply to six southern districts that could be inaugurated any time after Ramzan.

Under the project a 325-kilometre long pipeline would be laid with Rs60,000 cost per consumer. However, he said that they had made feasibility of its completion in Rs40,000 per consumer. The project would cost Rs1.5 billion and the remaining amount had already been paid by the provincial and federal government to the company.

In response to question, he said that the company had resorted to load-management and not load-shedding. However, he said that for winter of this year they had taken certain measures to avoid such a situation and specially mentioned the starting of gas supply from Gurguri gas field.

Similarly, he said that the pressure of gas supply to the province has also been increased from 290 MMCF to 350 MMCF due to which there would no load-shedding.

“There would be no stoppage of gas supply to CNG stations this year,” he said.

Replying a query, Mr Hussain said that Rs510 million was outstanding against consumers.