Second LNG terminal: Government going all out to overpower energy crisis, says PM

KARACHI: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Monday said the government was committed to resolve the issue of energy shortage and has successfully reduced the gap between demand and supply, both in the electricity and natural gas.

“Work was going on several power projects to overcome the challenge in shortest possible time,” Abbasi said at the inauguration ceremony of the second Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal at Port Qasim.

“Pakistan was importing 600 million cubic feet of LNG per day (mmcfd) through its first LNG terminal at Port Qasim. The second terminal will handle another 600 mmcfd, taking the total import volume to 1.2 billion cubic feet per day.”

The Prime Minister added that when Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government came into power in 2013, the country was facing serious issues of power shortages, whereas economy as well the law and order situation was in shambles.

“However, owing to the vision of its leadership and dedicated team the country’s economy has turned around and today the GDP growth rate is vibrant at around 5.3 percent,” Abbasi said hoping to take it up to 6 percent next year.

He said the government also confronted the challenge of terrorism head-on, while the challenge of power shortages has been addressed with the import of the LNG. “In 2013, the government was informed that it will take a minimum of seven years before any of its ambitious projects could take shape,” he said adding, “Nonetheless his government with its indefatigable efforts completed all the projects on time.”

He said the government was working on ways to produce electricity through different options. “At least three more LNG-fired power stations will soon become operational adding more electricity to the national grid,” the Prime Minister said.

Abbasi informed the audience that work on a 1360 megawatt coal-fired power project was almost complete.

Moving ahead, the Prime Minister congratulated Pakistan GasPort Limited (PGPL) on achieving this milestone. “There are two more milestones that are yet to be achieved by the PGPL,” he said terming the LNG terminal a success story.

Abbasi said that it should not be forgotten that new terminals were built by the private sector and the government’s role in this case was that of a facilitator to the consumers and the suppliers.

“The government's function is not to do business but to provide a regulatory framework,” he said. The Prime Minister said the LNG was the cheapest fuel available in the country and would adequately meet the requirements of the commercial, industrial, domestic and the CNG sectors. “There was a huge potential for investment in the LNG sector as the country has an immense demand for natural gas,” Abbasi added.