Address on the occasion of the opening of the natural gas pipeline e4tension at Peshawar on December 8, 1972
While inaugurating the Rs.22 crore natural gas pipeline extension, President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said that coming of S ui gas to the N.W.F.P. heralds an era of development which will bring many economic and social benefits.
The President said that the gas will release bagasse, presently being used as a fuel, to serve as a raw material in the paper industry. The gas may also be used as feedstock for petro-chemical industries.
He said that the Government was committed to bettering economic conditions of the people in under-developed and far-flung areas. If the gas could not be made to reach such areas by the pipelines it would be supplied to them in liquefied form “so that the benefits of the gas may be enjoyed by all.”
The President appreciated the cordial relations existing between the management and workers of the Company.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Managing Director of the Company announced at the behest of the President one month’s bonus for all the workers in token of appreciation of good work done by them in completing the task ahead of schedule.
The President declared that his Government was determined to remove invidious and unjust inequalities in the country, and to bring up the economically under-developed regions of Pakistan (including the tribal belt.)
He said that no stone would be left unturned in bettering the lot of the people of the under-developed areas of the entire country.
The President said that for the amelioration of the economic conditions of the tribal areas the tribal Development Corporation had already been set up and he had recently visited the far-flung areas in N.W.F.P. and the tribal belt to apprise himself of the prevailing conditions.
Expressing pleasure at the extension of natural gas to N.W.F.P. the President hoped that this would bring with it many economic and social benefits. It would provide clean and inexpensive fuel, ensuring fully reliable supply, without any artificial scarcity.
He, however, expressed dissatisfaction about the rate of utilization of the gas and called for maximizing our efforts to increase its utilization in order to save hard earned foreign exchange being spent now on import of oil.
The President said that though our efforts for search of oil have not so far been rewarded adequately, large reserves of natural gas had been discovered and efforts were afoot to search for new oil and gas reserves both on land and in the off-shore areas.
He said that Oil and Gas Development Corporation and some other prospecting companies were carrying out geological studies in D. I. Khan, Bannu, Kohat and North Waziristan with the object of locating possible oil and gas reserves.
The President was also pleased at the progress of the institution since its inception in 1964. The Company has extended its transmission system from 301 to 1,183 miles after an investment of over Rs.57 crore.
This Project brings gas to Daudkhel and Gujranwala in the Punjab and to Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Charsadda, and Takht Bhai in the Frontier.
A large number of people including the representatives of the World Bank witnessed the inaugural ceremony. The World Bank contribution to the project is nearly half of the cost.
During the ceremony, Sui Northern Gas company presented President Bhutto and representatives of the World Bank with souvenirs which were replicas of well-known ‘Bab-e-Khyber’, Frontier’s emblem done up beautifully in silver.
The President, noticing that bigger replicas were given to him and smaller ones to the guests from abroad, reversed the position by handing the larger replica to Mr. McNamara’s representative and said it was in the tradition of this country to give most honored place to the guests.
Morning News Report