Low gas pressure: newly-launched project to resolve issue

PESHAWAR: Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) General Manager Saqib Arbab has said that the government is making all-out efforts to address the issue of low gas pressure and to provide gas to more areas of the province.

“The 32 kilometre gas pipeline will add more gas to the system that will address the issue of low gas pressure in Peshawar and resolve other issues. The project will provide gas to almost all areas of the provincial capital,” Saqib Arbab told The News. He said the new Rs1 billion project would also provide sufficient gas to the Hayatabad Industrial Estate.

Chief Minister Mahmood Khan inaugurated the new pipelines on Ring Road near Achini Bala on Friday. The chief minister on the occasion said the new pipelines would extend the facility to the households and meet the demand of the commercial and industrial units.

The SNGPL GM said that due to efforts of the company, the losses have reduced if compared to the past years while thousands of more connections were provided to the people. He said the pipelines in Peshawar were decades old as these were laid in 1972 which needed to be upgraded.

“We have constituted a special task force to go after gas theft. A large number of illegal connections have been disconnected in Peshawar and other parts of the province while proper cases have been registered with the police,” said Saqib Arbab.

He continued that apart from Peshawar, an upgraded project for Swat would be inaugurated soon that would end the gas related issues of the people. He said the project would be completed at a cost of Rs2.25 billion.

The chief of the SNGPL said that they were ready for providing gas to areas in the newly merged districts.

The official said the government was focusing on improving the infrastructure of the gas and providing the facility to the maximum number of consumers.