Anisul Islam Noor :
The business people are concerned over energy crisis as some 300 industries have been waiting for gas connections for about one and a half years.
Akram Hossain, former President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), told The New Nation on Monday, “It is a fact that the Petrobangla is not able to provide gas connections to industries due to gas crisis but how can we hope to achieve the big GDP?”
Not only that a number of entrepreneurs even cannot set up factories because the Petrobangla is not permitting them gas supply. So industrialisation in the country is bound to lag behind, he added.
Though a high-powered committee formed to look into the issue had instructed Petrobangla to provide gas connections to industries, the state-owned gas, oil and mineral exploration company refused to oblige.
The committee, headed by Tawfiq e Elahi, Energy Adviser to Prime Minister, was formed in 2015 to look into the issue. Till now only 45 factories have got gas connections while the rest of the factories could not be commissioned.
Some 1,564 industrial units are preparing for submission of fresh applications to the committee for gas connections.
Md Shafiul Islam, First Vice President of FBCCI, told this reporter, “We need a rapid solution to industrial energy crisis. LNG is so expensive and entrepreneurs are not planning for that so the government should fix a mix price (LNG and piped gas) immediately. Otherwise, the sector will face similar problems again.”
Petrobangla Chairman Istiaque Ahmad said, “Now the country is suffering from energy crisis. So it is impossible to provide new gas connections to these industries. Even the existing industrial consumers are not getting gas supply properly for their industries.”
The applicants also failed to fulfil the conditions
which the Petrobangla imposed for industrial gas connections. Some of the factories are not in suitable locations for access to gas supply lines. If we give them gas connections they will not get the optimum gas pressure, he added.
“We hope 500mmcfd of LNG will be added by December 2017 when we will be able to provide gas connections to the industries,” said the Petrobangla Chairman.
Titas Gas Distribution and Transmission Company Acting Managing Director Mir Moshiur Rahman said, “Of course the industries will get gas connections but they have to fulfil the conditions of gas connection procedure or relocate their factories because if we give the connections the consumers of other adjacent areas will suffer more.”
A Petrobangla official said, “It is true that we had given permission to some of the industries but the gas shortage in the country is getting worse. The industrialists are also counting huge interest on bank loans they borrowed for setting up of factories. We hope next year we will be able to provide gas after LNG import.”
The business people are concerned over energy crisis as some 300 industries have been waiting for gas connections for about one and a half years.
Akram Hossain, former President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), told The New Nation on Monday, “It is a fact that the Petrobangla is not able to provide gas connections to industries due to gas crisis but how can we hope to achieve the big GDP?”
Not only that a number of entrepreneurs even cannot set up factories because the Petrobangla is not permitting them gas supply. So industrialisation in the country is bound to lag behind, he added.
Though a high-powered committee formed to look into the issue had instructed Petrobangla to provide gas connections to industries, the state-owned gas, oil and mineral exploration company refused to oblige.
The committee, headed by Tawfiq e Elahi, Energy Adviser to Prime Minister, was formed in 2015 to look into the issue. Till now only 45 factories have got gas connections while the rest of the factories could not be commissioned.
Some 1,564 industrial units are preparing for submission of fresh applications to the committee for gas connections.
Md Shafiul Islam, First Vice President of FBCCI, told this reporter, “We need a rapid solution to industrial energy crisis. LNG is so expensive and entrepreneurs are not planning for that so the government should fix a mix price (LNG and piped gas) immediately. Otherwise, the sector will face similar problems again.”
Petrobangla Chairman Istiaque Ahmad said, “Now the country is suffering from energy crisis. So it is impossible to provide new gas connections to these industries. Even the existing industrial consumers are not getting gas supply properly for their industries.”
The applicants also failed to fulfil the conditions
which the Petrobangla imposed for industrial gas connections. Some of the factories are not in suitable locations for access to gas supply lines. If we give them gas connections they will not get the optimum gas pressure, he added.
“We hope 500mmcfd of LNG will be added by December 2017 when we will be able to provide gas connections to the industries,” said the Petrobangla Chairman.
Titas Gas Distribution and Transmission Company Acting Managing Director Mir Moshiur Rahman said, “Of course the industries will get gas connections but they have to fulfil the conditions of gas connection procedure or relocate their factories because if we give the connections the consumers of other adjacent areas will suffer more.”
A Petrobangla official said, “It is true that we had given permission to some of the industries but the gas shortage in the country is getting worse. The industrialists are also counting huge interest on bank loans they borrowed for setting up of factories. We hope next year we will be able to provide gas after LNG import.”
