LAHORE: In bid to ensure transparency in price fixation, Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) President Ijaz A Mumtaz has urged the government to implement PEPRA Rules for LNG deals.
In a statement, LCCI President Ijaz A Mumtaz said that the import would not only fulfil energy needs but it would also help boost economic activities in the country. He said that the LCCI believes that the decision to import LNG would pave way for economic activities in the country but in case the deals are not done transparently, the situation could be the other way round.
The LCCI president said that there were no two opinions that the country was paying a very heavy price of energy shortage but at the same time comparatively costly LNG purchases would play havoc with manufacturing sector.
Mumtaz said that Pakistani merchandises were facing hard competition in the international market due to cost of doing business and industrial sector was in a dire need of an affordable fuel. He believes it is very unfortunate that the country has been suffering from power shortages for the last many years, thus badly affecting the GDP growth and lowering overall production.
He said that LNG would play an important role in mitigating the energy related issues therefore government should ensure transparency in LNG deals at any cost. He said that the power generation cost through LNG will reduce by 40 per cent as compared to diesel. He said that the LNG import price will be submitted before the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) for approval. He said that the converted fuel will help the government make an estimated savings of about $1.0 billion per annum on its current fuel import bill of nearly $15 billion.
