APTMA urges govt to honor four days a week gas supply commitment

They say the government should review its priorities on gas supply immediately to save the textile industry.

LAHORE: The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) leadership urged the government on Wednesday to honor its commitment of four days a week gas supply to the textile industry.

Acting Chairman APTMA Muhammad Akber, Chairman APTMA Punjab Ahsan Bashir and Group Leader APTMA Gohar Ejaz held an emergency conference at evening, expressing deep concerns over the sudden downward revision in gas supply to textile from four days to three days a week.

They said the government had cut gas supply to the textile industry from five days initially, followed by four days and now three days a week at present. The industry has already suffered gas disruption of 153 days during the current calendar year and it is likely to reach to 180 days in case the present trend continues, they added.

Speaking about the notice served to APTMA suggesting the frequency of gas supply from four days to three days a week, Gohar said the notice has perturbed the industry at large, putting production further under pressure and leading to massive unemployment and decline in exports.

Earlier last week, Federal Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain had assured the APTMA leadership of continuing with a four day a week gas supply schedule. However, his strong commitment was proved untrue after a week and a further reduction is expected once the mercury drops below 10 degrees in the coming days.

The APTMA leadership said the government should honor its commitment to avoid a devastating impact on the textile industry. They said the government should review its priorities on gas supply immediately to save the textile industry.

The industry employs 15 million people and had contributed $14 billion in exports out of the the country’s $25 billion exports during 2010-11.