RAHIMYAR KHAN: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday said that the country was making unprecedented progress under the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.
He was addressing a gathering after inaugurating RNLG gas pumping station. On the occasion, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb and members of parliament were also present.
The PM urged his critics to compete with the PML-N government in completing development projects instead of delivering false statements to beguile the masses.
The prime minister said the PML-N government firmly believed in serving the masses by delivering on its promises. “The opponents who want to test their performance should contest the general elections to be held in July this year and the people will decide about their fate.”
The prime minister asked his adversaries to come forward to deliver and perform. “In the past governments, some reveled in corruption while in politics others introduced a culture of abusive language. Politics is an arena for showing performance with concrete work,” he said.
The RNLG project is part of the gas infrastructure development across the country. It is a joint venture of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd. (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd (SSGC). It also includes construction of 1,044 kilometer pipeline by SNGPL and 425 kilometer pipeline by SSGC.
With the commissioning of the gas infrastructure, volume of the gas available for use has been doubled from 1,200 mmcfd to 2,400 mmcfd.
The gas infrastructure development projects will augment continuous supply of gas to power plants, industries, commercial and domestic users.
The PM expressed his confidence that the project would help overcome energy issues. The gas is being supplied to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from this area.
He said that in the energy security, the supply of gas played a significance role in the country and without its abundance supply, the energy issues could not be resolved.
He credited the SSNGPL and SSGC for the completion of the project within two and half years, outdoing the achievements made in the developed countries in this sector.
The prime minister said that it was first time in the country’s history that a 42 inch gas pipeline running over a stretch of 1,469 kms had been laid.
“When the PML-N came into power, it inherited the crippling energy crisis. The growth rate was below 3 percent,” he said.
“The power, fertilizer plants and industries were in a dismal state, whereas the CNG sector and domestic consumers were not getting power supply. The situation was becoming bad to worse,” he said.
The prime minister said numerous power plants at the cost of billions of rupees were being set up now. Re-gasification plants were functional and import of LNG was made at the cheapest rate which was acknowledged by the world, he added.
“Oil guzzling power plants are now being replaced with energy efficient regasified power plants. No import of oil is now made by the government. Better performing power plants – Baloki, Bhikki and Haveli Bahadur Shah – are being supplied with gas,” he said.
The prime minister said the PML-N government fulfilled all its promises as hundreds of development projects were being accomplished by it. He noted that time was running short for inauguration of other completed projects, considering the remaining tenure of PML-N government till June.
Published in Daily Times, January 7th 2018.
