Continued closure bring CNG industry to knees in Punjab

Lahore: Leader of the CNG sector Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha on Thursday said Punjab CNG stations have been kept closed since six months bankrupting many operators and bringing industry to its knees.

Government has promised to resume supply of natural gas to CNG industry on March 15 but it proved to be another broken promise, he said.

Speaking to a press conference here, he said that discontinued supply of natural gas to the CNG station sin Punjab has been contributing to increased oil import bill, pollution, unemployment and hurting investment climate.

Ghiyas Paracha said that massive corruption is going undetected in the garb of suspension of supplies to CNG sector which is going unnoticed.

He said that Prime Minister has assured masses that no one will have to take to streets to get their issues resolved which was not materialised.

The leader of the CNG sector said that a powerful lobby wants to frustrate plans of the government to take energy crisis through importing LNG by fixing high prices which are discouraging for the private sector.

The conspiracy has been aimed at giving undue benefit to some influential on the cost of country, he said, adding that absence of transparency has resulted in fears of failure of the import project.

He said that private sector is ready to import and use LNG to overcome problems associated with their businesses.

Ghiyas Paracha said that gas shortfall stands at 200 mmcfd, pipelines have capacity for additional gas and regasification unit is Karachi is operational but things are being delayed.

He asked the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to take note of numbness of gas companies and take corrective measures.