KARACHI: The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and industrial town associations, while expressing deep concerns over suspension of gas supply to the industries in Karachi have stated that all the industrial units are almost closed and the gas pressure is zero, resulting in cessation of production activities that would deal a serious blow to exports and badly affect the performance of export-oriented as well as general industries, besides triggering massive unemployment.
The KCCI along with Site Association (SAI), Korangi Association (KATI), FB Area Association (FBATI), North Karachi Association (NKATI), Site Superhighway Association (SSAI) and Bin Qasim Association (BQATI) appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Energy Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to take notice of the situation and look into the possibility of supplying RLNG to the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) for domestic usage as is being done in the case of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) so that the gas crisis being faced by the industries in Karachi could be eased.
They said that the business and industrial community totally rejects gas supply curtailment as announced by the SSGC and the Karachi chamber along with industrial town associations will shortly announce their future plan of action if relief is not provided immediately.
Referring to the SSGC’s statement in response to a joint press release issued on November 11, 2022 by KCCI and all seven industrial town associations, they said that a meeting was held between representatives of SSGC and the federally constituted committee comprising representatives of industries from Karachi, who gave numerous suggestions, of which one was to either close down gas supply to industries for two days a week or carry out gas load-shedding for eight hours a day so that the SSGC could maintain its ‘line pack’ and the industries could receive gas for 16 hours a day at required pressure.
However, this unfortunately was not done and later on, without taking the stakeholders on board, SSGC issued a notification/ letter to the industries about suspension of gas supply that contained several ambiguities. In the letter, for instance, SSGC issued a caution for future as well by saying that every year gas supply will remain suspended.
Subsequently, it was notified that 50 percent of gas supply to captive power plants will also be curtailed without explaining what will happen to those units that do not have KE connection or any other source and the process of gas supply suspension to general industries has also not been properly explained.
The SSGC must refrain from giving misleading statements in the media by sharing those decisions which were neither discussed nor agreed upon by the federally constituted committee in any of the meetings held to discuss the gas crisis, the KCCI and industrial town associations said, adding that several meetings were held but without taking the stakeholders in confidence SSGC issued an “improper notification”.
The KCCI and the industrial town associations once again urged the government to take notice, and stated that the situation is really alarming in Karachi which would terribly affect industrial performance, exports and have an adverse impact on the economy due to rampant unemployment as suspension of gas for three consecutive months would obviously cause massive layoffs and huge reduction in exports.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022