Senate Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources has asked Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) to set up more customer facilitation centres and provide gas to Badin, Chaman and Pishin areas.
A 5-member Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources visited the SSGC Head Office on Friday for detailed discussions with the SSGC management.
Chairman of the committee Senator Dilawar Abbas was accompanied by other members Rukhsana Zuberi, Bibi Yasmeen Shah, M. Sarwar Khan Kaker and Sher Muhammad Baloch.
Senator Rukhsana Zuberi suggested that in urban and rural areas where gas is not freely available, SSGC must set up public kitchens whereby people could use gas by means of token or coin system for cooking purposes.
She also offered to allocate funds for this project. Ms Zuberi also recommended to induct more female workers in SSGC workforce. Senators Bibi Yasmeen Shah and Sarwar Kakar also requested the management to make gas available to all areas of Badin district, Chaman and Pishin.
Senator Syed Dilawar Abbas, applauded SSGC's role in the expansion of transmission and distribution network of gas in the neglected areas of Sindh and Balochistan.
Azim Iqbal, Senior General Manager (Customer Services) gave a detailed presentation detailing the company's gas infrastructure, notable achievements as well as the expansion of transmission and distribution network through a comprehensive Rs 43 billion plan. A number of queries pertaining to the presentation were raised by the committee, which were satisfactorily answered by the senior management. The recent Ogra hearing on the proposed revision of prescribed gas prices also came under discussion at the meeting.
The managing director SSGC appraised the committee on the vocational training and apprenticeship programmes being conducted to benefit the people in the remote areas of Sindh and Balochistan. The senior management briefed the delegation about the objectives behind launching of the LNG project in Pakistan which, as it explained, was to essentially bridge the emerging gap between the supply and demand of gas foreseen during the next 3 to 5 years.