LAHORE, Oct 23: The textile industry has demanded of the government to close down CNG stations for three months during acute gas shortages in winter to divert fuel for electricity generation either through captive power plants (CPPs) or gas-based power plants.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) chairman Ahsan Bashir said complete curtailment of gas supply to the transport sector during coming winter is crucial to keep the wheels of the industry rolling to protect exports and jobs.

Others present on the occasion included senior Aptma leader Gohar Ejaz and Aptma-Punjab chairman Shahzad Ali Khan.

Bashir said the country’s flagging economy could be turned around within months provided the textile industry has uninterrupted gas supply seven days a week for producing electricity and for direct gas based processes. He said various studies had shown that the use of gas to fuel the cars amounted to wasting the precious resource of the country that could be used to generate jobs and boost textile exports to $25 billion from the current $13 billion.

Gohar Ejaz said that some 113 CPPs are producing 2000 megawatts of electricity to keep the industrial wheel rolling. He said 90 per cent of the textile industry, which earned $13 billion in export revenues and gave direct and indirect jobs to 15 million people in the country, was dependent on captive power for its energy requirements.

He said it was not the job of the textile industry to generate electricity. “Still we invested heavily in captive power to become part of the solution and not the problem.” He lamented that the textile industry was denied gas supply for six months last year against the contractual arrangement of maximum gas curtailment of three months.

“The energy shortages have led to closure of 30 textile industry capacity in Punjab at the cost of jobs and much-needed export revenues,” he said.