CNG sector requires urgent bailout package: APCNGA

The All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) on Monday said that the CNG sector was collapsing due to the economic slowdown, and it required an urgent bailout package from the government.
The government should move to save Rs 450 billion of investment in the CNG sector, which is also providing direct and indirect jobs to millions of people, said Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha, central chairman APCNGA.
In a letter written to Prime Minister Imran Khan, Ghiyas Paracha said that reduction in oil price had provided relief to the masses but it had also minimised the difference in the prices of petrol and the CNG, which had halted the sale of environmentally-friendly fuel, putting the industry at risk.
The CNG sector can only survive, if the government allocates 100,000 rupees monthly grant to every filling station for three months and announce other measures, he said.
The leader of the CNG sector said that withholding tax should be reduced from existing four percent to two percent, industrial power tariff should be allowed, while the MDI charges included in the electricity bills should be halted at 10 percent.
He said that gas distribution and re-gasification charges should be reduced, while the GIDC should be completely abolished. Tariff of gas for the CNG filling stations using local gas should be reduced by 35 percent, so that this business can become viable. He also demanded waiver of five percent customs duty on import of LNG, so that its price can be brought down for customers and consumers.
Paracha said that the private sector could give excellent results, if it was allowed to take part in the LNG supply chain. The vibrant private sector has the ability and will to bring down LNG prices substantially to benefit the entire population, therefore, it should be insulated from red tape, he demanded.