Low gas pressure forced industrial units to stop production in SITE

KARACHI: Low gas pressure has forced industrial units to stop their production; as a result almost all industrial units operating on gas have been closed down in the Pakistan’s largest industrial area, SITE on Saturday.

Shortage of natural gas with persistent low pressure has a widespread impact on industrial units in Site industrial area as they are almost inoperative due to poor gas pressure.

Industrialists expressed their disappointment over frequent and abrupt drop in gas pressure in largest industrial estate. They said that the industrial production stopped after gas pressure dropped abruptly, several captive power generating units also stopped operating because of the non sufficient supply of gas to the biggest and oldest industrial area of the country.

Industrials expressed their dismay over SSGC gas supply with miserably low pressure as a result of which, production had been seriously hampered. They said beside production losses the biggest sufferers were the daily wage workers as they lost third days earning. In the SITE Industrial Areas there is acute problem of low pressure of gas and it is a great dilemma that the SITE industries have remained off and on without gas. Industrialists demand for full gas pressure in SITE.

Nasir Hayat Magoon, Businessmen Panel (BMP) presidential candidate of FPCCI said that industrialists are unable to carry on production in present grim situation where they have no gas. Talking to Business Recorder he said with such low pressure of gas, it is impossible for industries to run their production and the labourers sit idle with heavy burden of wages on the industries resulting in not only failing to meet their export commitments due to passing away of the deadline and in this situation foreign buyers do not lift the goods and at the same time we will lose the valuable orders for the next season. He said industries are the back-bone of a country for economic growth and development and providing gas and electricity is an important task for the government to keep industries operating. He said all out efforts and planning should be made to ensure industrial units smooth operation and further promotion.

Riaz Uddin, Senior Vice President, Site Association of Industry, has strongly condemned the non-supply of gas with the required pressure to the industries of SITE area and demanded from the government to ensure gas supply at full pressure to industries as promised in various meetings with the industrialists. Otherwise timely shipment of export orders will not be possible due to which there are fears of cancellation of foreign orders.

In an appeal to government, Riaz Uddin said that before the onset of winter, several meetings with the industrialists at the government level, including Prime Minister Imran Khan, had promised that if the industrialists agreed to get gas at a higher tariff than usual, they would be given uninterrupted gas as per production demand. But unfortunately, despite the higher tariff, the promise of gas supply at full pressure to industries has not been fulfilled. “Production activities were being severely affected due to non-availability of gas to the industries of the SITE. The gas pressure has been zero since Thursday, making it impossible for industries to run”, he pointed out.

SVP SAI further said that Prime Minister Imran Khan on the one hand seeks the cooperation of the industrialists for the promotion of industries and increase in the country’s exports; on the other hand neither gas nor electricity is supplied to the industries as per requirement. In such situation neither industries will run, nor will export increase. If production activities continue to be disrupted then industrialists would be forced to shut down the factories, he added.

Riaz Uddin demanded the government uninterrupted and full pressure supply of gas to industries in the best economic interest of the country and said that strict directives should be issued to SSGC in this regard, as disrupting industrial production activities is against Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of promoting industries and country’s exports.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020