KCCI unhappy over gas tariff freeze, seeks price cuts
KARACHI: While the main apex business body is upbeat over economic prosperity, the leadership of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Thursday criticised the government’s decision to freeze gas tariffs for six months, calling it a projected relief that falls short of the industry’s expectations.
In a statement, Businessmen Group (BMG) Chairman Zubair Motiwala and KCCI President Rehan Hanif said the business community had consistently called for a substantial reduction in gas tariffs to bring down the cost of doing business.
They said the actual cost of indigenous gas hovers around Rs1,800 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), yet industries — particularly captive power plants — are being charged approximately Rs4,000 per mmBtu, which is “wholly unjustifiable and economically damaging”.
Gas supplied to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for heating and process-related purposes is being billed at an “excessively high rate” of around Rs2,300 per mmBtu, forcing many units to shut down and causing unemployment, they said.
They also raised alarm over the unannounced increase in RLNG mix in gas supply to industries. While industries were earlier informed of a 10 per cent RLNG mix, recent gas bills reflect that this proportion has been increased to 20pc, significantly raising the cost of gas, they added.
FPCCI links economic stability to improved security, supports SIFC
The KCCI leadership urged the government to immediately revisit its gas pricing policy, rationalise tariffs in line with actual costs, reverse the unjustified increase in RLNG mix and deliver real relief to industry.
Meanwhile, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Atif Ikram Sheikh attributed recent economic stability and improvements in macroeconomic indicators to an improved security environment.
He said economic prosperity was closely linked to national security and praised initiatives such as the SIFC for supporting foreign and domestic investment.
Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2026
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