FCCI president hails Rs 2.68/unit cut in fuel adjustment
FAISALABAD: Engineer Rizwan Ashraf, president of the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI), has welcomed Rs.2.68 per unit decrease in fuel adjustment charges but urged the government to shun the policy of increasing rates of taxes and duties on electricity.
In a statement, he said that Pakistan is experiencing energy crisis for the last two decades. The successive governments, instead of generating cheap electricity, preferred costly thermal generation which pushed cost of energy mix to the unbearable limits. Shortage, coupled with costly electricity eroded the profitability of our exporters, he said, adding that forced management of rupee-dollar parity also inflicted cumulative loss of Rs 7 billion to the exporters.
About GDP, the FCCI president said that economy is continuously suffering 2 percent loss due to energy shortage for the last many years and many units have been closed down or working with only 40-50 percent of their installed capacity. However, very recently industry was exempted from load shedding of electricity while it was still facing acute shortage of gas. Even during this hot summer industry in Faisalabad was getting only 33 percent of gas quota and this situation was affecting our industrial productivity.
Referring to the lifting of economic sanctions on Iran, Engineer Rizwan Ashraf said that it is yet another bounty for Pakistan immediately after cut in oil prices. He said that Pakistan should immediately complete Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline to get Iranian gas without any delay. He said that according to reports, Iran has already completed line up to Pakistani border and now Pakistan should lay the portion of pipeline within its boundaries to immediately inject gas into its network.
He said that apparently there is no hitch after lifting of economic sanctions on Iran and hence Pakistan should start work to lay gas pipeline within its territory.
President FCCI said that work is also expected to start on TAPI gas pipeline but it will take 2-3 years to complete, hence Iranian project is not only most feasible but also cost effective distance wise and time efficient. He was of the opinion that Pakistan could get Iranian gas within months by completing remaining portion of this line on fast track basis.
