President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Mahfooz Elahi on Thursday said that the scarcity of gas is causing immense problems for the public and industries at large, and appealed court to direct the authorities take necessary measures for ensuring a constant and uninterrupted supply of gas.
"Gas shortage in conjunction with electricity shortage has forced a large number of industries and small and medium enterprises to close down," he said and claimed that this problem has resulted in the loss of more than 400,000 jobs. He added that it is also inflicting an annual loss of over rupees 220 billion on the industrial sector alone.
ICCI President was of the view that serious trouble lies ahead for domestic, industrial and commercial sectors if the issue is not addressed. He said that constant load-shedding of gas and electricity is impeding industrial growth, increasing prices of electricity and consumer items, and both the common man and traders are finding it increasingly hard to survive. He observed that the output of industrial sector declined sharply in 2010 owing to electricity and gas shortages. He added that thousands of daily wage earners in the major industrial cities are facing another dilemma, as gas supply to industrial units remained suspended for three days.
Pakistan is currently facing about 600mmcfd natural gas shortfall and during peak hours, gap between demand and supply touches 900mmcfd, Elahi said and added that this severe energy crisis in Pakistan has enormous negative impact on country's economic development. Pakistan has entered into gas deals with Iran and Turkmenistan but these projects should be materialised.
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