PESHAWAR, Dec 27: The chairman, All Pakistan Textile Manufacturers Association (Aptma), NWFP, Muhammad Taimoor Shah has said that the suspension of gas supply to the Gadoonamanzai Industrial Estate (GIE) has affected textile units and several of them are likely to lose foreign contracts.

In a press release issued here on Monday, Mr Shah said that the GIE manufacturing units were without gas for the last five days bringing manufacturing operations of several of the units at a halt.

The president of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Malik Niaz Ahmed, in a separate press statement, expressed concern over the suspension of gas supply to the GIE and said that it would further undermine industrial activities in the estate, which saw hundreds of its units closing down during the last few years because of unfavourable situation.

Taimoor Shah, when contacted, told Dawn that the NWFP-chapter of Aptma's efforts to make authorities of the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited to restore supply of gas to the GIE failed to yield desired results.

According to him, suspension of gas supply to GIE continued for the fifth consecutive day on Monday and all gas-based manufacturing units experienced complete shut down for being without fuel.

He said that the textile yarn manufacturing units, including 10 major and several small units, were the worst hit for being relying on the captive power generation produced through natural gas.

"Textile units would not be able to honour their export contract if the supply of gas was not restored forthwith," said Mr Shah. He said that the Peshawar-based SNGPL bosses did not come up with satisfactory response when approached to rectify the situation.

"The SNGPL is not only failed to overcome the problem but also unable to give a proper reason for suspending the supply of gas to GIE," said Mr Shah in the press release.