President of Site Association of Industry (SAI) Salem Parekh has claimed that 80 to 90 percent industrial units remained closed for two days due to low gas pressure and lack of gas supply in their industrial area.
"Cost of manufacturing has registered huge rise owing to under-capacity operation of units" Parekh said, talking to Business Recorder. He expressed disappointment over incessant drop in gas pressure in the largest industrial areas of the city on Wednesday and Thursday.
He said low gas pressure for the last two days had forced industrial units to stop their production and resultantly almost all industrial units operating on gas had been closed down in the Pakistan's largest industrial area SITE.
"Shortage of natural gas with persistent low pressure has a widespread impact on industrial units in Site industrial area that remained almost inoperative due to poor gas pressure," he said.
The SAI president urged the Prime Minister to resolve this issue as Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) had failed to honour its assurances which it made in presence of Sindh Governor Sindh regarding the regular supply of gas. He noted that although new Managing Director of SSGC had been appointed, yet he too failed in providing a comprehensive plan for the supply of gas to industries.
Parekh lamented the inaction on the promises by SSGC that he said was a routine practice. He said industrialists failed to understand the government policies because on one hand they make statements of enhancing exports and on the other due to these sorts of steps, hamper production and export.
He urged the Prime Minister to immediately take personal interest in resolving issues of industrialists and ensure they get uninterrupted gas supply to increase production, exports and job opportunities. The SAI president said that industries could not meet their targets which would put export-oriented industries in a very awkward position. He asserted that under Article 158, the province producing gas has the first right. But, distribution of gas in Sindh is most inequitable and unjustified because SSGC is supplying 25 percent less than allocated quota to Sindh while SNGPL supply to Punjab is 15% less that the actual quota. He asked if it was not a great irony and injustice that Sindh was already receiving 25% less than the allocated quota and despite that supply is made with low pressure.
He said industrial production stopped after gas pressure dropped abruptly, several captive power generating units also stopped operating because of the insufficient supply of gas to the biggest and oldest industrial area of the country.
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