Low gas pressure to Hub industries: EFP urges federal government to take notice

KARACHI: Ismail Suttar, President of Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP) and Lasbela Chambers of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) has termed gas pressure fluctuations in Hub Industrial and Trading Estate (HITE) unbearable, no more and a tyranny for manufacturers already suffering due to severe economic downhaul in the ongoing Covid crisis.

In a statement, the EFP chief calls for the federal government to take suo motu notice of this open barbarism and blatant haemorrhage directly at the behest of SSGC, which is threatening the quality of highly valuable products.

"The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) must be held accountable for not notifying the Hub-located industrialists in advance of gas supply distortion. Industries have only barely commenced operations and are currently striving hard to meet every little of whatever demand from the depressed global market they could retrieve", he opined.

EFP president feared that the GDP is predicted to fall by an unprecedented US$100 billion in the coming fiscal year and exporters are in dire need of protection by the government against unreliable gas supply companies.

Pakistan cannot afford any fall in competitiveness of exports at this time, especially resulting from unannounced low gas pressures in the Hub Industrial and Trading Estate.

He mentioned that several key production companies such as textiles, foods, salt, marble, chemicals, packaging, light engineering & pharmaceutical operate in this location, which are key contributors to the foreign exchange, so the federal government take suo motu notice and issue directives to SSGC to supply gas with required pressure to the industries of Hub Industrial and Trading Estate.-PR

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020