Electricity, gas shortage: three percent GDP growth lost last year: LCCI

The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh has said that Pakistan has lost 3 percent GDP growth last year due to electricity and gas shortage. He was addressing the MBA students at Jinnah Islamia College of Commerce on Saturday.
The LCCI President said that the situation was so deplorable that in one part of the country, the industry was getting uninterrupted gas while in the other part there is no gas for the industry. "Had a little attention been given towards the provision of gas and electricity to the industry the country's growth would have been phenomenal."
He said that the business community was unable to understand that why no policy has so far been evolved to tap 175 billion tons of Thar coal reserves that could produce 25,000MW to 30,000MW of electricity for hundred years. Irfan Qaiser while giving a detailed review of ongoing economic scenario said that the government failure to tap country's potential is to be blamed for the economic downturn.
Talking about Pak-India trade, the LCCI President said that there was no second opinion about it that the opening of trade would pose new challenges to the local industry but definitely it would also be opening up new opportunities as well.
He urged the students to do their best in bringing good name to the motherland that has been facing multiple challenges for the last many years. He said the students were the asset of a nation and expressed the belief that if given proper educational environment, they could bring laurels to the country in all fields.
He called upon the students, to work hard and focus on achieving education to ensure a bright future for Pakistan. He said that the young generation had high stakes in the country's future and could be regarded as the future leaders therefore, they should work hard and concentrate on their education so that they could serve the nation.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman, Jinnah Islamia Group of Colleges, Yousaf Mughal highlighted the college achievements and said that among top positions in the Punjab University MBA examination, the college bagged six positions. Jinnah Islamia College is one of the five colleges of the province who was granted affiliation for MBA study in the private sector, he added.