SUKKUR, March 30: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has said that the government is actively considering a proposal to impose a cess on fertilizer factories and the matter will be discussed with owners of these factories.

The prime minister was addressing a large gathering in the lawns of the Sindh chief minister's house in Khangarh after a ground-breaking ceremony for the supply of gas to Khangarh and other areas by the Sui Southern Gas Company.

He said that if the government decided to levy the cess, the amount collected would be spent on developing the area where these factories were situated, like the sugar cess which was being spent on areas where sugar mills were operating.

He said that natural gas was being exploited in Ghotki, Daharki and adjoining areas since 1957, but Khangarh being the most important area of the district, was getting the gas only in 2004.

The credit for this, the prime minister said, went to President Pervez Musharraf who, during his visit to Ghotki, had promised to provide gas to the area. Mr Jamali said that his government was following all policies of President Musharraf, including his foreign and defence policies.

Earlier, Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Chaudhry Naurez Shakoor said there were large deposits of gas in Sindh and Balochistan and his ministry was conducting an extensive survey.

He said that huge gas reserves had been found in Sanghar in Sindh and in the Tal area of the NWFP. He said that work was in progress on exploiting both the deposits.