Lahore, November 22, 2018 (PPI-OT): Punjab Minister for Forestry, Fisheries, Wildlife and Environment Muhammad Sibtain Khan assured full backing of North South Gas Pipeline through Punjab, while emphasizing upon construction companies to take care of agriculture and environment during its execution along its route through the province.
“The environmental assessment study must focus on protection of agriculture and environment as pipeline track passes through Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur and all the way to Okara and Nankana Sahib districts inside Punjab’s territory,” he said while speaking at the provincial level scoping workshop held here at a local hotel on Thursday as part of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) study being conducted for North South Gas Pipeline project. Environmental Management Consultants (EMC) Pakistan organized the workshop as being local consultants working on ESIA of total 803 kilometers-long North South Gas Pipeline project.
The Minister regretted that previous governments had neglected the environment as Pakistan had only 8 per cent green cover, including meagre 3 per cent in Punjab, as against the global requirement of growing 25 per cent forestry cover in the country. “We are growing concrete jungle instead of growing natural forests,” he added. He said that Punjab government would extend full cooperation to complete the project within stipulated time.
The EPA, Punjab, Director General Syeda Maleeka also called upon environmental organization conducting environmental assessment study on the gas pipeline project to take into accounts various technical, environmental and social aspects to implement the project in a transparent manner.
Saquib Ejaz Hussain, project manager ESIA study from EMC Pakistan, said that Pakistan government is pursuing to bring additional gas in order to mitigate the widening gap between natural gas supply and demand in the country.
He said that an 803-km long pipeline would pass through 12 districts of Pakistan including 4 districts of Sindh and 8 districts of Punjab. “Starting from Nawabshah, it will pass through Shaheed Benazirabad, Khairpur, Sukkur and Ghotki in Sindh and then entering into Punjab through Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Vehari, Pakpattan, Bahawalnagar, Okara, Kasur and terminating at downstream River Ravi near village Karianwala, Nankana Sahib.
He said that the project envisaged laying of a 15.9-mm diameter pipeline one-meter below into the ground. In first phase, he said, the construction of shall transport 500 million standard cubic feet per day. “Its capacity shall boost up to 1200 million standard cubic feet per day in addition to construction of three compressor stations for gas transportation in second phase.
As compared to Sindh, he said, Punjab will witness major activity due to scattered nature of the population of the province. Therefore, he said that they were undertaking all institutional and legal aspects, besides taking all stakeholders on board to address their concerns in order to remove all hurdles before laying of pipeline. The pipeline will become operational in two years’ time from commencement.
Asif Shuja Khan, former DG of Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency who now serves as chief operating officer of EMC Pakistan, said that Environment Social Impact Assessment study will conduct air quality and noise surveys; physical environment survey will be undertaken; archaeological and cultural sites would be protected; ecological survey will be conducted to protect flora and fauna; socio-economic survey as well as resettlement surveys will be conducted. In addition to workshops at national, provincial and district levels, the focus group discussions will be held for resettlement and compensation mechanism. “Our aim is to minimize the displacement of population,” he added.
Syed Nadeem Arif, managing director of EMC Pakistan, informed that ESIA of the project would comply with local and international environmental standards including the regulations set by leading global financial institutions to assess the environmental, socio-economic, and community health components of major developmental projects. Besides, Maxim Stasenko and Wajahat Sandhu from Oriental Stream (Pvt) Ltd also spoke, while former Punjab EPD Secretary Raees Abbas Zaidi, Shams ul Haq Memon were also present on the occasion.
For more information, contact:
EMC Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited
503, Anum Estate, Opposite Duty Free Shop,
Main Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi, Pakistan
Tel: +92-21-34311466, +92-21-34382860
Fax: +92-21-34311467
Email: mail@emc.com.pk
Website: http://emc.com.pk/