RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Karachi Industrial Forum (KIF) – an alliance representing the seven Industrial Associations, on Monday announced to hold a protest demonstration outside the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) head office against the gas load shedding to the industrial areas and disconnections of the commodity to the around 474 captive power units, in this week. However they did not announce the exact date for the protest.

Also, the forum has urged the Prime Minister Imran Khan to intervene, and direct the SSGC to ensure adequate supply of power to the industries in the larger interest of the country’s economy.

Addressing a joint press conference at Karachi Press Club, representatives of the industrial zones said Karachi, the economic and commercial lifeline of the country, is being step-motherly treated by the incumbent federal government like other previous regimes.

They said the current gas crisis is primarily due to mismanagement on the part of the Ministry of petroleum. If the RLNG import arrangements were timely made, gas crisis would not have taken place. The government instead of facilitating the industrialists by ensuring uninterrupted gas supply is forcing them to shut their units. This will affect not only the country’s exports, but also leave industrial workers jobless.

Gas shortage during winters is not a new phenomenon, they said, and urged the government to come up with long term policy plans to mitigate challenges.

They argued that the export industries can’t work without the allied industries, and due to the SSGC’s move, the exporters have also suffered. The abrupt disconnection of gas to the captive power plants has also affected the pharmaceutical, food, automotive, and other allied industries.

The current cumulative demand of industries in Karachi is around 400 MMCFD, including 180 MMCFD of the zero rated sector.

The petroleum ministry had promised to ensure around 200 MMCFD RLNG for the Karachi industries, but unfortunately, from 20th of December, 80 percent of the amount promised by the ministry was reduced to 40 MMCFD. They said the gas shortage for the industries is much more than 200MMCFD.

Due to this grim situation, they said the industries in the city have been facing double loss, first is the gas price hike and the other is reduction in the industrial production.