ISLAMABAD, Feb 14 (APP): All Pakistan Compressed Natural Gas
Association (APCNGA) on Sunday expressed confidence that the government’s recent deal to import
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Qatar would help revive the CNG sector, which was bearing the brunt of prevailing energy crisis in the country.
Pinning high hopes with the LNG import agreement and the government’s
sincere efforts to overpower the energy shortage, APCNGA Chairman Ghiyas Paracha said the deal would pave the way to restart hundreds of CNG outlets shutdown due to prolonged gas suspension for last several years.
“Striking the $16 billion LNG deal is not only the historic step but
also the biggest achievement of the present government as it will reduce the energy shortfall by 25 percent,” he said while talking to APP.
He said CNG was the environment friendly fuel and claimed that it was
30 percent cheaper as compared to petrol at the existing rates, adding that CNG was being sold at Rs 53 per liter and Rs 82 per kilogram.
Answering a question, Paracha said the purpose behind selling the CNG
in liter was to do its comparison with petrol so that consumers could feel the difference.
However, he said, efforts would be made to end the prevailing CNG
price disparity in provinces and bring its prices to Rs 47per liter from Rs.53 in consultation with the government.
With reopening of CNG stations, he said around 250,000 workers
associated with the sector would get their jobs back and a new era of industrial revolution would begin following the arrival of imported gas.
Paracha said he was seeing the industrial boom in the coming days as
the Qatar LNG deal would draw attention of foreign investors and force them to come to Pakistan for getting benefit of the business-friendly atmosphere.
He said two major LNG pipelines Gwadar- Nawabsha and Karachi-Lahore
were being laid to supply the commodity to industrial and power generation sectors to meet the country’s growing energy needs.
Replying to a question, he said Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited had
asked the owners of CNG stations in Punjab to reopen their outlets. “Restarting the closed machinery
and bringing the things in order is taking some time, so CNG stations in Punjab will reopen from Monday,” he remarked.