The President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), Engr Daroo Khan Achakzai Wednesday urged the government to resolve the long outstanding issue of Gas and Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) in consultation with the key stakeholders and FPCCI.
He said resolving the issue is necessary so that the element of uncertainty that has been prevailing in both the investors - local and foreign - is removed and their confidence in the government policies is restored, which is a pre-requisite for the success of any scheme.
He said the former government instead of utilizing the cess revenue on building infrastructure of gas pipelines as originally intended by the GIDC Act 2015, irresponsibly used the cess on CNG stations, Metro projects, curtailing the budget deficit, etc.
He added that the misuse of GIDC resulted in high cost of doing business for the indigenous industries thus rendering them uncompetitive both in local and global markets and now they are on the verge of collapse. Daroo Khan recalled that the gas prices in Pakistan, as compared to its regional competitors - Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, etc, is much higher and with an additional cost of GIDC it would only add to the woes of the business community.