SITE industries face gas suspension

Association says industries will shut down if fuel supply is not restored

KARACHI:

If gas supply to SITE industries is not restored, then the industries will not have any option but to shut down operations, warned SITE Association of Industry President Abdul Rasheed.

Expressing concern over the suspension of gas supply, the association president appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan and Energy Minister Hammad Azhar to intervene and restore gas supply to the industries in order to save workers from becoming jobless, according to a statement released on Friday.

The prime minister’s vision to stabilise the economy and promote industrialisation would not be fulfilled if the industries were not operational, Rasheed said.

The Covid-19 pandemic had already hit the industries to a great extent, he said, adding that the industries were suffering huge losses and struggling for survival.

Moreover, measures like this were further impacting the production of industries, he lamented. “When industry runs, it provides jobs and promotes exports,” he remarked.

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He was of the view that Pakistani exporters would face severe difficulties to complete their export orders and compete in international markets given the absence of gas, which was a basic fuel for the industries to run.

The government should consider the issue and avoid steps which were not industry-friendly, Rasheed said.

He urged the government to direct Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) to immediately restore gas supply to SITE industries so that production could be resumed, which would bring stability to the economy and promote exports.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2021.

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