Punjab Industries Minister Chaudhry Muhammad Shafiq said on Tuesday that his government has suspended development projects to divert funds to the energy sector so that it could supply 3,600 megawatts of electricity to the Punjab-based industries in the next two years. His announcement came in a meeting at the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) in connection with the opening of the Phase II Construction of South Tower of the LSE Plaza. Exchange Director Asif Baig Mirza was also present.
The minister said the energy shortage issue was aggravated after passing the 18th Amendment since the Punjab-based industrialist failed to compete with their counterparts in Sindh. "We could not reap the benefit of GSP Plus status mainly due to energy issue," he said, and added, "We could only earn only one billion dollars on this account against the targeted amount of five billion dollars." He also said the LNG terminal would be completed by the month-end to help resolve 60 percent of the issues. "In the past, 500 CNG stations were set up without getting proper licenses and their owners unlawfully got the gas connections," he said.
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