Secretary, Commerce and Investment, Fazal Abbas Maken, has said that the government had exempted the textile sector of power load shedding besides providing relief to domestic consumers through load management. However, energy crisis would end in due course of time.
Addressing the executive committee of Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), chaired by Asrar Ahmed, President, the Commerce Secretary said that new thermal power plants would be operational in July this year which would add 1000 MW electricity in the power generation system.
He said that the government was executing long-term and short-term energy projects to meet this crisis on permanent basis. Maken said that previous regime did nothing for the power generation, exploration of gas reserves during last decade.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said he was taking a number steps to meet the energy crisis and next step of the government is establishment of 200 MW coal plant with the financial assistance of Turkish government. He said that Punjab government was a defaulter of Rs 3 billion, and it had paid Rs 1.5 billion to Wapda and remaining amount would soon be cleared.
He said that line losses in Punjab were much less than other provinces and the people of Punjab pay their electricity bills regularly but Punjab was not being accommodated in power load management. No relief was being given to Punjab. He said that Punjab government wants to do work with the collaboration of private sector.
He assured that Punjab government would continue its advocacy policy to get redressed their problems relating to federal government departments. He stressed the need for value-addition in every sector to earn more and more foreign exchange. He said that Multan is enriched with craftsmen, "and we should promote the handicrafts like camel skin decoration items, blue pottery, woodwork, and clay-pottery.
He said that Pakistan's economy entirely depend upon the agriculture and Textile and we should take positive measures to boost up the production. He assured due representation of Multan Chamber in the boards of management at local and provincial level and allotment of land for the export display centre. In his address of welcome, Asrar said that the government should exploit the potential of southern Punjab by promoting and encouraging the agro-based industry on top priority basis.
He said that southern Punjab produces 80 percent of total cotton production, 40 percent of wheat and Irri-6 and Irri-9 rice. mango, citrus fruits and dates are main crops of this area. He said that the energy crisis had put the local industry in trouble because local manufacturers were losing their foreign buyers and global markets.
Asrar Ahmed said that highest mark-up rates, high power tariff, long duration of loadshedding, non-availability of natural gas had increased the cost of production, "and now we are not in a position to compete with even Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc". He suggested moratorium of two years on long-term loans and one-year moratorium on mark-up payment.
He said that mark-up should be in single digit, like China and India, as the 16 to 18 percent mark-up was very high. Awan said that unnecessary documents should be avoided for the SME sector and mango pulp plant should be given in the control of MCCI so that it could be run on commercial basis. Muhammad Azam, Anwar Saleem Keen, Deputy Secretary Commerce Raafia, Ms Kausar, Iqbal Hassan, Idrees Ahmed, Saqib Ali, Muzaffar Khan and Khurram Javed also spoke.
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