The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the government to fix the price of oxygen cylinders.
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed, heard the coronavirus suo motu case in the Supreme Court during which the court ordered fixing the price of oxygen cylinders amid the worsening coronavirus situation in the country.
In the coronavirus suo motu notice case, the Ministry of Industry and Production was directed to fix the price of the oxygen cylinder within two days.
The apex court said that a procedure should also be worked out to determine the price of oxygen cylinders.
Meanwhile, Advocate General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) said that the suppliers were charging exorbitant rates as the price for oxygen cylinders was not fixed.
‘PSM oxygen plant approx 40 years old’
He also said that the Pakistan Steel Mill (PSM)’s oxygen plant is more or less 40 years old.
“It will cost Rs 1 billion to activate the oxygen plant,” he noted, adding that the court will be provided with a detailed report related to the availability of oxygen in the country.
The Ministry of Industries and Production had earlier decided to assess the gas production plant and see whether it can be revived to meet the demand for oxygen, as cases of the coronavirus continue to surge in Pakistan.
A delegation of technical experts visited the PSM and explored the possibilities of putting the plant to use to produce more oxygen.
The PSM plant has the capacity to produce 15,200 cubic metres of gas per hour.
Experts believe it will not be necessary to activate the main plant of the steel mills to run the oxygen plant. In addition, oxygen cylinders can also be manufactured at the steel mills, if the need arises.
A day earlier, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had informed doctors that the provincial government would “intervene” and operationalise the oxygen plants at the Pakistan Steel Mill located in Karachi for Rs1 billion.
“We are passing through a very serious situation; therefore, we have to be prepared to face any emergency,” CM Murad had said while speaking to leading doctors at the CM House on Tuesday.
