ISLAMABAD: Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is adamant to complete Murree air mix LPG plant under the vigilance of regulatory authorities which called it unviable and unfeasible, Daily Times learnt.
The Rs 15 billion project would be completed at the cost of the country’s deprived areas, a source in the ministry said.
The project is a move to facilitate the aristocrats of the country who have set up their homes in the hill station.
Murree is the petroleum minister’s constituency who wants to strengthen his grip on the city by completing the project.
A report compiled by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority said a similar plants were set up in Quetta and Larkana in 1990.
“The plants caused huge loss to our national kitty because these plants met with worsened fate and miserably failed and could not come up to the expectation adhered with them and at the end these projects were closed by the petroleum ministries.”
OGRA also told the minister that former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain also tried to establish such a plant in Kot Lakhpat, Lahore but the project was shelved after OGRA officials termed it unfeasible.
An OGRA official told the minister that the Murree project was unfeasible and these funds should be allocated to other gas-starved areas of the country.
The OGRA official advised the ministry to spend these funds on LPG cylinders so that the people from hilly areas could get cheap gas.
The regulatory authority officials also said Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were blessed with huge national resources and wealth, but they had not started such expensive projects.
The regulatory authority told the government that it should enhance the supply of LPG to the areas where it is being used as main source of fuel.
The project is started on political reasons which could go awry in the future and could become another mega scam in the ministry which has already brimmed with huge corruption stories.
The source said OGRA is now under the minister’s control and the report submitted on the project could be altered with the people who are dancing at the tunes of the ministry but it is fact that such projects in Pakistan are not viable.
A lawmaker from Jhelum said the government is going to spend huge funds on the Murree LPG air mix plant but on the other hand Tehsil headquarters Dina, a city of more than 2 million people, is without natural gas.
He said Murree had been supplied with natural gas and now reportedly the petroleum minister is going to spend another billion rupees on the project only to cement his grip on the constituency.
Talking to Daily Times, Abbasi said come what may, the project would be completed as it has already been approved by the ECC , CCI and federal cabinet.
He said, “We will give equal share to all federal units but starting from our own home because the people from Murree and its suburb areas are paying huge cost on gas cylinders for the last many years which is 5 times higher than the people paid from fuel starved areas.”
He said the total cost of the project is Rs 50 million for 6000 people which is less than transmission pipeline cost and added the distribution cost of the project is the same.
He said the difference in LPG and gas cost is recovered partly from the consumer through higher tariff and partly from GDS and there is no financial burden on other gas consumers.
