Karachi, June 4, 2025 – The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has urged the government to immediately reconsider and reduce gas prices in order to safeguard the country’s struggling industrial sector and support sustainable economic growth.
KCCI President Muhammad Jawed Bilwani issued a strong statement on Wednesday, highlighting the severe impact of soaring energy prices on manufacturing and exports. He stressed the urgent need for the government to reassess its gas pricing policies and energy procurement strategies. Bilwani recommended that Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG), currently being imported under a long-term agreement with Qatar, should continue but be supplied to industries at reduced prices.
According to Bilwani, the total monthly cost of importing RLNG through six vessels amounts to approximately Rs50.5 billion. He proposed that the gas be provided to industries at Rs40 billion, while the remaining Rs10.5 billion could be adjusted by diverting locally sourced, lower-cost indigenous gas to captive power plants. This solution, he said, would ensure gas supply at reasonable prices, boost industrial productivity, generate employment, and benefit the broader economy.
The KCCI president criticized the current gas pricing structure as unsustainable, citing rising tariffs, elevated taxes, and high interest rates as key obstacles making Pakistani industries uncompetitive globally. “Pakistan currently has among the highest industrial gas prices in the world,” he lamented.
He also warned that suspending the supply of 400 mmcfd of indigenous gas to SNGPL-served regions—particularly Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—while shifting reliance to expensive RLNG, could devastate the industrial sector and harm national economic performance.
Bilwani noted that many industries have already reverted to biomass alternatives such as rice husk, maize waste, and even cow dung to generate steam, due to the unaffordability of gas. He expressed frustration that businesses, once encouraged by the government to invest in captive power setups, now find their costly installations of gas generators and heat-recovery systems ineffective due to high gas prices.
He further condemned the government’s reliance on IMF-driven policies, stating they were being used to justify harmful decisions without adequate consultation with industry stakeholders.
“The government must act now,” Bilwani said. “Without meaningful reductions in gas prices and a clear roadmap for industrial growth, Pakistan’s economic future is in jeopardy.”