PESHAWAR, Dec 04 (APP): A delegation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textile Mills Association (KPTMA) led by Ex-Senator, Salim Saifullah Khan called on the Caretaker Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Justice (R) Syed Arshad Hussain Shah here Monday.
The delegation apprised the chief minister of the problems faced by the textile Industries of the province with special focus on the exorbitant price hike of gas for industrial sector.
Caretaker Provincial Minister for Industries, Aamir Abdullah, Secretary Industries, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, Secretary Energy and Power Nisar Ahmad and other relevant authorities were also present on the occasion.
The delegation expressed serious reservations on the recent decision of Economic Coordination Committee with regard to increase the price of gas for industrial sector and appealed to the chief minister to take up the issue with the federal government on urgent basis.
The ECC had taken a decision to enhance the price of industrial gas from Rs. 1238/MMBTU to Rs. 2400/MMBTU and that it had also taken a decision to supply blended gas to the industries of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under which 80 percent natural gas and 20 percent RLNG will be supplied to the industries of the province which will further increase the price of industrial gas to Rs. 3100/MMBTU.
The KPTMA remarked that if the decision was not reverted, then they would be left with no other option but to close down the industries in the province, as it would be impossible for them to run factories with such high rates of gas.
The delegation said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was a surplus gas producing province with a total gas production of 550 MMCFD and a total consumption of 200 MMCFD, whereas its industrial gas consumption was only 35 MMCFD; adding that Article 158 of the Constitution guaranteed preference to the gas producing province with regard to the use of gas.
The chief minister termed the concerns of the delegation as genuine and assured to take up the issue with caretaker prime minster as soon as possible and hoped that the prime minister would consider the concerns of KPTMA favorably.