ISLAMABAD - Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) on Sunday lauded the decision of the government to hasten work on Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project to import natural gas from Turkmenistan.

Natural gas has emerged as the most import fuel and Pakistan's future is also linked to the gas, therefore the decision to expedite TAPI project is laudable, said Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Patron Shahid Rasheed Butt.

He said that gas has become the cheapest source for the power generation overtaking all other processes. Therefore, dozens of nations are converting their power plants on gas, he added. He said that import of gas from Iran is not possible while local production is stagnant since last fifteen years.

He said that the number of LNG terminals and re-gasification plants are being increased which is laudable. Deregulation of CNG prices is a very wise decision of the government which will revive CNG industry and that the CNG business can become viable when the price difference with petrol is 20 percent.

“We unconditionally support the initiatives of the government to increase the percentage of gas in the national energy mix,” he said. He noted that proposal of independent consultants to hike gas tariff by five percent to cover UFG losses will hit masses and the business community. The current UFG losses of SSGCL stood at 13 percent while SNGPL's losses were at 15 percent, he added. This is in contrast to losses being reported by the gas utilities, he added. Gas companies should be asked to paint real picture of the losses, he stated.