PML-N government driving the country towards prosperity : PM Abbasi

Lahore : Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Saturday said under the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government, the country was taking huge strides towards unprecedented progress and development with construction of 1,800km motorway network and efficient functioning of gas and power plants.

He called upon his critics to compete with the PML-N government with a single completed development project, instead delivering false statements to beguile the masses.

The prime minister said the PML-N government firmly believed in serving the masses by delivering on its promises. The opponents who wanted to test their performance should contest the general elections to be held in July this year and the people would decide about their fate.

He was addressing a gathering after inaugurating RNLG gas pumping station. On the occasion, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, members of the parliament, and high authorities were present.

The project is part of gas infrastructure development across the country. It is a joint venture of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd. (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd. (SSGC). It also includes construction of 1044 km pipeline by SNGPL and 425 km pipeline by SSGC.

With the commissioning of the gas infrastructure, volume of the gas available for use has been doubled from 1200 mmcfd to 2400 mmcfd.

The gas infrastructure development projects will augment continuous supply of gas to power plants, industries, commercial and domestic users.

The prime minister advised his adversaries not to mere talk but come forward to deliver and perform. In the past governments, some reveled in corruption while in politics others introduced a culture of abusive language.

The prime minister said the politics was an arena for showing performance with concrete work. He expressed his confidence that the project would help overcome energy issues. The gas was being supplied to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from this area. He said in the energy security, the supply of gas played a significance role in the country and without its abundance supply, the energy issued could not be resolved.

He credited the SSNGPL and SSGC for the completion of this project within two and half years, outdoing the achievements made in the developed countries in this sector.

The prime minister said in the country’s history, never had been laid a 42 inch gas pipeline running over a stretch of 1469 kms.He said when the PML-N came into power, it inherited the crippling energy crisis while the growth rate was lingering below 3 per cent. The power, fertilizer plants and industries were in dismal state whereas the CNG sector and domestic consumers were not getting power supply. The situation was heading towards bad to worse, he said.

But due to the vision of Nawaz Sharif and PML-N government’s passion, the way was paved for resolution of the energy related issues. These issues were resolved, and would benefit the country in the upcoming fifteen years as well, he added.

The prime minister said numerous power plants at the cost of billions of rupees were being set up. Re-gasification plants were functional and import of LNG was made at the cheapest rate which was acknowledged by the world, he added.

Oil guzzlers power plants were now replaced with energy efficient regasified power plants and no import of oil was now made by the government, he said, adding the best performing power plants Baloki. Bhikki and Haveli Bahadur Shah were being supplied with gas.

The prime minister said the PML-N government materialized all its promises as hundreds of development projects were being accomplished by it. He noted that time was running short for inauguration of other completed projects, considering the remaining tenure of PML-N government till June.

He regretted that when the PML-N government was ousted from power, none in the successive governments took pains to construct or expand the motorway.

But again it was the PML-N government which successfully initiated work on 1800 kms motorway during the last four and half years.

He announced that 2 million gas connections would be given to consumers by this June and the figures stood about 50 per cent of the total gas connections to be given to the people in the country’s history and that too on merit.

The prime minister also thanked the elected members of parliament from the area for not making any demand because they knew that their government had delivered.

He said the PML-N government also focused on the uplift of southern Punjab with completion of various development projects.