LAHORE: Textile industry representatives are set to make suggestions to the government on the way forward on energy security, a press statement from the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association said on Thursday.
The recommendations will be decided in a meeting at APTMA’s Punjab office on Friday, which will be chaired by the association’s prominent member Gohar Ejaz.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had asked Ejaz on Saturday to consult industry stakeholders and advise the federal cabinet on how the government can overcome the energy crisis. He had asked for recommendations within six days.
Accordingly, a special task force on energy, headed by Ejaz, was set up which included representatives from the chemical, fertiliser and power sectors. The group, which will meet for the first time on Friday, was tasked to devise a roadmap to address the energy shortage being faced by the industrial sector of Pakistan.
“The industry and the government have come together to chalk out a joint strategy on gas supply to industries that rely on the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited Network,” Ejaz said. “The task force will advise the government on managing uninterrupted gas supply of 600MMCFD, 240MMCFD and 150MMCFD to general industry and textile, fertiliser and power sectors respectively throughout the year within six months.”
The task force will also make recommendation on overcoming the gas shortage of up to 1,000MMCFD during winter and 500MMCFD during summer on the SNGPL network to keep the industry running throughout the year. Representatives from industrial stakeholders will finalise recommendations on uninterrupted gas supply to the industry, fertiliser and power sectors.
The textile industry has suffered gas suspension for 180 days from January 2011 to date. Consequently, textile exporters have lost about $2 billion in the first six months of the current fiscal year.
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