Industrialists seek release of Rs33b dues

Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Iftikhar Ahmed Sheikh has urged the government to address grievances of Karachi industrialists and immediately release the remaining amount of Rs33 billion for incremental electricity consumption during Covid-19 by the city's industrial units.

He made the plea following discussions with industrial town associations about inordinate delay in the release of funds for incremental consumption of electricity during the pandemic.

"KCCI has been constantly raising this particular issue and it has been assured by policymakers on various occasions that funds had already been allocated for incremental consumption, which would be released to the industries of Karachi soon, but unfortunately, this pressing issue stands unresolved to date, triggering a lot of anxiety among the business community," he said in a statement on Friday.

Sheikh pointed out that a total of Rs42 billion was to be released under the incremental electricity consumption package announced to support industries which suffered grave losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, only around Rs7-9 billion was released whereas a huge amount of Rs33 billion was outstanding.

"Under the incremental package, the funds payable to the industries of Karachi for FY 2021-22 were estimated at Rs22 billion, followed by Rs13 billion for 2022-23 and Rs7 billion for 2023-24," he revealed. He lamented that funds had already been fully released all over the country except Karachi, which contributes over 68% in terms of revenue and 54% in exports.

Industrial units of the city are contributing their share to the national economy "despite facing a lot of challenges, particularly the unbearably high cost of doing business that has brought a large number of industries, particularly SMEs, at the verge of collapse".