President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Mohammed Tariq Yousuf, while expressing deep concerns over enduring suspension of gas supply to industries in Karachi, appealed the government to issue strict directives for immediate restoration of gas supply with ample pressure to all the industries of Karachi otherwise the industrialists will have no choice but to close down their production units themselves.
In a statement issued, President KCCI said that it was highly unfair to have such an attitude towards Karachi’s business community which, despite facing so many odds and challenges, contributes around 54 percent in terms of exports and more than 68 percent in terms of revenue.
Karachi has been subjected to severe gas shortage and there was no help from any other source whereas as per SSGC’s statement, gas supply has gone down to 720 mmcfd from 810 mmcfd which was originally 1000 mmcfd. In this scenario, the industries have to go through severe gas load shedding which was totally unacceptable and intolerable. The industries cannot function without gas so somebody at the helm of the affairs has to take cognizance of the situation and see what was happening, he added.
President KCCI said that feasibility or viability of the company gets badly disturbed due to suspension of gas supply and the cost of production rises. If a production unit, which usually runs for eight hours a day, is only able to run for two hours, then the cost of production becomes very high, which results in making the finished goods uncompetitive. Sustainability is the key word but under the prevailing conditions when no gas was available to industries, the production has gone down to 25 percent which needs immediate attention, he said, reiterating that the industries must be provided uninterrupted gas otherwise they would have no choice but to close down themselves.
Tariq Yousuf, while vehemently condemning SSGC for suspending gas supply to Captive Power Plants (CPPs) of General Industries, said that this was a highly deplorable move as it has intensified the problems for the industries who simply cannot depend on unreliable electricity being supplied by KE.
“CPPs provide reliable electricity to general industries which helps in keeping the high-tech machineries involved in the entire production line operational. It is a well-known fact that even minor electricity fluctuation for few micro seconds terribly disrupts the entire production line, damages the pricey machineries and causes heavy monetary losses during production”, he said, adding that keeping in view all these facts, it was very crucial to immediately restore gas supplies to CPPs of general industries so that the hardships being faced in the ongoing stiffest environment could be minimized to some extent.