PESHAWAR, Sept 22: Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Chaudhry Nouraiz Shakoor Khan has said that Sui Northern Gas Company (SNGC) will complete projects worth Rs730 million in the NWFP during the current fiscal year.

He said this while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of gas supply project to Mehmood Abad and Gharib Abad and adjacent localities of the Mardan district here on Monday.

The project has been completed at a cost of Rs3.7 million.

Mr Shakoor said the present government was giving top priority to speedy development of less developed and remote areas.

He said efforts were being made to exploit all available resources for the betterment of the common man.

He said national gas companies had undertaken various infrastructure development projects worth billions of rupees which would bring socio-economic progress and prosperity to the country.

The minister said additional one billion cubic feet gas per day would be made available in the country from new gas fields by December 2003, which would help the government to substitute fuel oil-run power units. This would save precious foreign exchange of $500 to 600 million per annum, which would be utilized for other welfare-oriented projects.

He disclosed that two oil and gas discoveries had recently been made in Shakardarra and Gurguri areas of the Kohat district.

Deputy Speaker NWFP Assembly Ikramullah Shahid and Mohtamim of Jamia Islamia Tahfeezul Quran Hafiz Hussain Ahmad and others also spoke on the occasion.—APP