Industrialists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have urged the government to provide affordable and continuous gas and power supplies to manufacturing facilities to promote businesses. In addition, they have demanded urgent resolution of the letter of credit (LC) issue that is impeding industrial output.

These topics were discussed when Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Ghulam Ali visited the Industrial Estate in Hayatabad at the request of Industrialists Association of Peshawar (IAP) President Malik Imran Ishaq.

Malik Imran brought up a number of industrialists' concerns during his introductory remarks, most of which have to do with electricity, gas, the collection of fixed billing rates, and quarter-to-quarter power bill price adjustments, among other things. According to him, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is generating natural gas in excess, and there have also been reports of additional gas finds in the region.

He said according to Article 158-A of the constitution, the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have first rights to the province's natural gas. Despite this, he claimed, the province's industrial, commercial, and residential customers do not have access to an affordable and reliable energy supply. In a similar vein, he expressed worry over fixed billing charges and quarterly rate modifications in power bills, claiming that while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is also self-sufficient in the generation of energy, electricity is not available to the province's industrial and commercial consumers.

In addition to making sure that industries have a cheap and reliable supply of electricity, the IAP president requested that fixed billing charges and the collection of quarterly tariff changes be immediately stopped.

Speaking at the event, Ghazanfar Bilour brought up the subject of LCs before the governor, claiming that the lack of LC openings has brought the industrialization process to the brink of a standstill. The cost of industrial manufacturing has also witnessed an unparalleled rise, he continued. Due to the non-opening of LCs, many cargo containers are stranded at Karachi Port, and since huge demurrage fees are being collected every day, industries are suffering financial and production losses, according to Ghazanfar Bilour.

IAP President Malik Imran Ishaq encouraged the governor to serve as a voice for the industrialist community. He warned that manufacturers may be forced to discontinue production owing to prohibitively enormous financial losses if the concerns are not handled properly.

The IAP president and business leaders received assurances from Governor Ghulam Ali that their concerns would be handled effectively at the central level and that every effort would be made to get them resolved quickly. During a future meeting in Islamabad, he promised to inform the federal ministers and other top authorities of the businessmen' worries. Additionally, Mayor of Peshawar Zubair pledged to bring up the concerns of manufacturers with relevant departments in order to reach a mutually agreeable conclusion.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk