Business Desk :
Businesses across industries have appreciated the government’s decision to step back from rationing gas supply to industries.
Reversing its earlier decision to suspend gas supply to industries four hours a day for 15 days, Petrobangla on Thursday announced that the supply will resume from Friday.
A smooth gas supply will help the apparel industry to sustain its growth in the coming days, industry insiders said. And the development of garments means more export earnings, more employment and more development for Bangladesh as a whole.
BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim said, “This is a very good decision for manufacturers. I hope the export will not be affected this month. And we will be able to ship the consignment timely.”
“We requested Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, to resume gas supply. We are happy that he has considered our plea,” he said.
“This is a peak time because, after Eid-ul-Fitr, production will be shut for 8 to 10 days,” said, Muhammad Hatem, executive vice president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).
On April 12, the government ordered suspending gas supply to industries from 5:00pm to 9:00pm daily to stave off an acute gas crisis that had been affecting household and industrial consumers. Lack of gas was also causing load shedding during Ramadan, the fasting month.
Gas supply to industries on Friday is resuming five days before the decision of 15-day suspension. This is due to an ease in gas supply crunch as new imports have arrived and also an increase in extracted gas from local gas fields, sources said.
However, the existing six-hour daily rationing (from 5:00pm to 11:00pm) at CNG-filling stations will remain in force.
