The Gohar Ejaz led committee has submitted LNG import recommendations to the Federal Minister for Petroleum Dr Asim Hussain for its formal approval from the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC), said spokesman of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA).
It may be noted that the Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf had constituted a high-powered committee of APTMA Group Leader Gohar Ejaz along with Federal Secretary Finance and Federal Secretary Petroleum to finalise recommendations on LNG import to meet energy shortage in Pakistan before coming winter.
APTMA spokesman said the committee has finalised the recommendations and submitted to the Federal Petroleum Minster in the shortest possible time for its early approval and implementation in the larger interest of the country. According to him, the Gohar Ejaz led committee has recommended the government to construct the terminal for import of LNG through the gas infrastructure development surcharge and authorise the SNGPL and the SSGC to import LNG as per their requirement to distribute locally.
APTMA spokesman said the textile industry has already been indebted to the Federal Petroleum Minster Dr Asim Hussain for his tireless efforts in resolving the energy problem of industry, particularly in Punjab. He said the textile industry in Punjab calls Dr Asim Hussain as the 'energy czar of Pakistan' and pins high hopes on his abilities for early execution of the project relating to import of LNG to meet domestic shortage. The Federal Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain has held useful meetings with two foreign LNG consultants in the UK to speed up government efforts of fulfilling energy shortage in Pakistan, APTMA spokesman added.
The spokesman further pointed out that the textile industry is passing through very difficult time of its existence and 40 percent of the capacity was closed down or running partially due to energy shortage. He said the Non Performing Loans (NPLs) of the industry are piling up fast and likely to cross 50 percent of the total loans sooner than later. Therefore, he said, the government has strongly realised the need of industry and decided to take concrete measures to meet energy shortage in the country.
He said the textile industry would be fully supportive to all efforts of Dr Asim Hussain to meet shortages of energy-stricken industry in Punjab where textile industry remained closed for 84 days and zero supply to fertiliser industry and 505 percent supply cut to gas-based IPPs, suffering on account of capacity charges.
He said Gohar Ejaz, Shahid Abdullah and Fawad Mukhtar, the industry representatives from textile, IPPs and fertiliser, have called on Federal Minister for Petroleum and informed him that the MD SNGPL Arif Hameed has made clear that no gas would be available for industrial sectors in coming winter. Therefore, arrangements have to be made for retrofitting of the terminal, securing a storage vessel at the terminal and gas supplies from reliable sources and approving the concept of weighted average of pricing of gas on the system. APTMA spokesman has expressed the hope that the Federal Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain would leave no stone unturned in importing the LNG in the light of recommendations finalised by the Gohar Ejaz led committee.