Saturday | 18 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Saturday | 18 January 2025 | Epaper

Govt urged to focus more on development of energy management, reduce import dependency

Published : Sunday, 8 December, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 278
Business Correspondent
 
Experts at a seminar urged the government and other stakeholders to pay more attention on improving the own sources and management of energy to reduce its import dependency.

They made the emphasis at a seminar titled "Predictable Energy Pricing and Supply Stability" organized by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) held at the DCCI Auditorium in the capital on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion as the chief guest, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Adviser on the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, said the government still provides subsidy to the consumers for electricity.

Regarding gas, he said that the country needs at least 4000 MMcf/d of gas, but the supply is lower than 3000 MMcf/d.
He also informed that there is a reserve of 60-70 MMcf/d of gas in Bhola and for that the government is going for an open bidding method.

Kabir said not only for Bhola, but also for all procurement process related to power and energy, the government from now on would vie for open bidding system to ensure fair competition.

And for that the government has already changed the law of 2010, he added. In the power sector, he said the IPP is outdated and merchant power plant system should replace it.

The Adviser also commented that the government would soon go for drilling of 50 gas wells in the country and it would be increased up to 100 in phases. Regarding solar projects funding, he said that the lending by the banks should be asset-based and cash-flow based rather than collateral based loan.

He said the advertisement for 40 solar power plant projects would be published in the newspapers soon for which the government would arrange land for the interested investors.

DCCI President Ashraf Ahmed said that over the last 50 years, the economy of Bangladesh has transformed from an agrarian to industrial economy.

Therefore, it is necessary to ensure uninterrupted energy supply at a sustainable price to grow business activities in the country, he added.

The DCCI president said that in the last two decades, the energy consumption has increased almost 4 times to almost 45 million "Tones of Oil Equivalent (TOE)".

To meet the growing demand of power and energy in the industrial sector in Bangladesh, Ashraf said there is no alternative but to import and enhancing local energy production.

"We have to focus on increasing our capacity to use energy in this regard. In view of the current situation, there are various challenges in extraction of domestic coal, but the extraction process across the country needs to be enhanced," he added.

The DCCI President also said that despite the potential of solar power, the country is lagging behind due to lack of necessary land and complex procedures and delays in land allocation management, which needs to be considered actively.

He pointed out that some of the power plants are quite old and their production capacity would be significantly reduced by 2030. "Nuclear energy, renewable energy-based power generation needs to be increased. At the same time, the government's energy import procurement policy should be revised to keep the price stable," he added.

Dr. Mohammad Tamim, Professor, Department of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Engineering, BUET; Dr. Badrul Imam, Honorary Professor, Department of Geology, University of Dhaka; Dr. Ijaz Hossain, Professor and Dean of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, BUET; Imran Karim, Vice Chairman, Confidence Group, among others spoke on the occasion.



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