Sindh, Balochistan CNG stations to reopen 11pm Thursday

KARACHI: CNG stations in Sindh and Balochistan are to reopen at 11pm on Thursday, FTNews reported.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) had issued a statement announcing closure of CNG stations for 36 hours after suspected militants blew up a main pipeline near Jafarabad in Balochistan.

The incident had disrupted the fortnightly gas load management schedule of the SSGC. The damaged 18-inch diameter pipeline was supplying 114 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of natural gas to the Sui Southern Gas Company.

However, a spokesperson for the company told FTNews Thursday that repair-work on the pipeline had been completed and gas supply restored to the two provinces. Therefore, CNG stations in Sindh and Balochistan would reopen at 11pm on Thursday.

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Protest against PR downsizing plan

KARACHI: Workers associated with Pakistan Railways took out a procession at the Karachi city railway station on Wednesday against the proposed downsizing and privatisation of the service.

Leaders of the Rail Mazdoor Ittehad (Karachi division), including Raja Abdul Manaf, Mir Azam Khan Boneiri, Mohammad Khan, Mohammad Mukarram Hakim, Fazalur Rehman (Munna Bhai), Nooruddin and Malik Shabbir Ahmed, spoke to the participants in the procession organised by the Pakistan Railways Employees Union.

They demanded that a realistic approach be adopted for the revival of the department with the focus on elimination of corruption and maladministration instead of following alleged anti-workers and anti-public policies.

The speakers demanded that salaries of employees up to grade four be paid through the PR accounts department instead of banks.—APP

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Khanpur Dam project RCB seeks additional Rs200m from govt

RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has sought an additional Rs200 million from federal government to complete Khanpur Dam Water Supply Project (KDWSP) by end of June 2012, fearing that the project cost will increase if it did not complete within current fiscal year.

The RCB senior official told FTNews on Monday that the government had allocated Rs150 million for 2011-12 which was not enough to complete the project aimed at providing potable water in cantonment area.

He said that the government released Rs30 million after every three months to the cantonment board for the project but it had submitted a request to Secretary Defence to give recommendation to the government to increase three-month installment from Rs30 million to Rs80 million.

He said that in the request, the RCB informed the Defence Secretary that the total cost of the project was Rs700 million and the government provided Rs150 million in previous fiscal 2010-11 and allocated Rs150 million for the fiscal 2011-12.

He said that if the government provided an additional Rs200 million to the RCB during this fiscal year, it would complete the project.

However, he said that the project cost would increase in next fiscal 2012-13 if the work to lay water supply lines and construction of underground and overhead water tanks was not completed.

He said that the contract was given on old rates of construction material like cement, iron bars, sand and daily wages of the workers. He said that the prices of construction material had increased manifolds and the contractor would demand latest market rates if the construction work went beyond this fiscal.

When contacted, RCB Cantonment Executive Officer Rana Manzoor Ahmed Khan said that KDWSP was an important project for the cantonment areas as it would increase the water supply and storage capacity to meet the water requirement for next 20 years.

Work on the project was moving at a slow pace due to shortage of funds, he said adding the project was being funded by federal government.

The executive officer said he the defence secretary would have presentation on the project next week.

He said that under the project, the RCB had to lay 22-km-long water supply trunk line. He said that the RCB had laid eight-km-long trunk line along Peshawar Road and completed two underground water tanks at Aliabad and 502 Workshop at Adiala Road and the remaining work would complete next summer.

He said that at present, the RCB was getting 9 million gallon water daily (MGD) from Khanpur Dam and 6 MGD from tubewells. He said that there was shortfall of 5 MGD daily as the daily water requirement of Cantonment areas was 20 MGD.

He said that the water requirement in cantonment would likely to increase 30 MGD in next five years due to massive growth of population and migration of the people to the city from other parts of the country.

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LPG price increased up to Rs 15 per kg

ISLAMABAD: The marketing companies on Monday increased the price of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) from Rs 10 to Rs 15 per Kg by raising the price of domestic cylinder from Rs 120 to Rs 170 and commercial cylinder from Rs 480 to Rs 680.

Chairman of All Pakistan LPG Association Irfan Khokhar told APP that the price of gas in Gilgit-Baltistan, FATA, Balakot, Muzaffarabad, Bagh, Azad Kashmir and Swat would be Rs 160 to Rs 175 per kg and the domestic cylinder would be available at Rs 1870 to Rs 2050.

The LPG would be available at Rs 145 to Rs 155 per kg in Rawalpindi-Islamabad and Murree and the domestic cylinder would cost Rs 1690 to Rs 1810.

In Lahore, Gujrat, Sialkot, Sahiwal, Khanewal, Kasur, Sargodha, Behra the LPG price would be Rs 125 to Rs 135 per kg and the domestic cylinder would be sold at Rs 1450 to Rs 1570.

LPG in Peshawar, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ismail Khan and Sakkur would be sold at Rs 135 to Rs 145 per kg and the domestic cylinder would be available at Rs 1570 to RS 1690.

Similarly in Bahawalpur, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Faisalabad the price of LPG would be Rs 130 to Rs 140 per kg and in Karachi the gas would be sold at RS 115 to RS 125 per kg.

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Pakistan’s December inflation up 9.75 per cent

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 9.75 per cent in December from a year earlier, the Federal Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

CPI was down 0.70 per cent over November.

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Fare hike for air travellers

KARACHI: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has imposed new taxes and increased already existing taxes and the latest hike will be effective from Sunday (Jan 1, 2012), private news channal has learnt.

According to sources, international passengers will be paying up to Rs1,720 additionally while domestic travellers will be paying Rs200 additionally.

The increase is applicable even to the tickets purchased earlier if the journey starts on or after Sunday (Jan 1, 2012).

The sources said that the new taxes included infrastructure development charges, security charges and airport tax.

They said that keeping in view the continuous fall of the value of the rupee the new charges imposed on international passengers were in dollars. As the dollar appreciated the income of the CAA would increase in rupee terms, they said.

Responding to private news channel's queries, CAA spokesperson Ismail Khoso confirmed that the additional financial burden had been put on the passengers starting their journey from Pakistani airports from Jan 1, 2012, but insisted that the charges were still the lowest in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries.

International flights: The embarkation fee for business and first-class passengers which earlier was Rs1,000 has been increased and now they will have to pay Rs2,000; whereas economy class passengers who earlier paid Rs500 will now be charged Rs1,000.

A new tax, infrastructure development charges, has been introduced and it will be charged in dollars. The tax is $6 that currently has been put on a par with Rs540 but is subject to change as the dollar value fluctuates.

Another new tax, security charges, has been introduced and will be charged in dollars at the rate of $2, which currently has been put on a par with Rs180 and will change with the changing dollar value.

The total increase in fare for international passengers comes to Rs1,720 for first and business class while economy class passengers will have to pay an additional amount of Rs1,220.

Domestic flights: The embarkation fee which was earlier being charged at Rs120 per passenger for all classes has been revised and increased and now every passenger will be paying Rs300.

A new tax, government airport tax, has been introduced for domestic passengers at the flat rate of Rs20 per passenger regardless of the class the passenger travelled in.

The total increase in fare for domestic passengers will be Rs200.

Responding to private news channel's queries, PIA spokesperson Syed Sultan Hassan said that the airline would start collecting these additional charges on the tickets purchased before Jan 1, 2012 in cash at the boarding counters before issuing boards cards at all airports in the country.

He said that the airline would just be collecting these charges on behalf of the CAA and they would be given to the CAA.

He said that a big chunk of the airline ticket price comprised different taxes which were just collected by the airline and then passed on to the relevant organisation(s).

Responding to private news channel's queries, the CAA spokesperson said that the CAA had also revised the route navigation and airport charges that it collected from the airlines using Pakistani airports and also those flying over the country using its airspace.

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Brent oil set to end year up 14 per cent, record high average

SINGAPORE: Brent crude is set to end the year up nearly 14 per cent from a year ago, supported by signs of an improving US economy and Iran’s threats to halt oil flow through a vital trade route.

Brent rose 19 cents to $108.20 a barrel by 0701 GMT in the final trading day of 2011, with gains limited by a surprise rise in US stockpiles and a slowdown in output from Chinese factories.

Brent is poised to close the year at a record-high average of around $111 a barrel, surpassing the previous annual peak of just below $100 reached in 2008. With the exception of 2008, oil prices have closed higher every year for the last decade.

US crude rose 18 cents to $99.83 and is on track to record a 9 per cent gain for the year.

The oil market will end 2011 the same way it started, with fears of a major oil supply disruption in the Middle East and North Africa supporting prices.

Iran’s repeated threats this week to halt oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz has helped keep intact a risk premium on prices that first emerged this year with the Libyan uprising.

“The Middle East premium from Libya has not yet completely eroded as a result of what is happening in Iran,” said Jonathan Barratt, chief executive of Barrattsbulletin.com and ex-managing director of Commodity Broking Services.

“We are seeing the premium rebuild, which is keeping the spread (between US crude and Brent) at around $8-9.”

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said on Thursday the United States was not in a position to tell Tehran “what to do in the Strait of Hormuz”, state television reported, after the US said it would preserve oil shipments in the Gulf.

His remarks follow threats by Iran’s navy chief and first vice president earlier this week that Iran could disrupt oil tankers sailing through the key shipping lane if the West imposes sanctions on its crude exports.

US economic data on Thursday also helped support prices. New US claims for jobless benefits rose last week but the underlying trend pointed to an improving labour market, while regional factory data showed the world’s largest economy gaining momentum as the year ended.

“When traders get back to the market, they will be focused on the recovery in the United States. As the number one consumer, that may override the demand destruction we are seeing in India, China and Japan,” Barratt said.

US recovery hopes helped offset a surprise rise in US crude stocks and signs that China’s once turbo-charged economy was slowing down.

China’s factory activity shrank again in December as demand at home and abroad slackened, a purchasing managers’ survey showed on Friday, reinforcing the case for pro-growth policies to underpin the world’s second largest economy.

In the United States, crude stocks climbed 3.9 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday, confounding analysts’ expectations for a 1.7 million barrel drawdown.

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