The investors
imported capital machineries spending huge money, but due to non availability of gas they are unable to start
up production
Energy supplies to industries
When the local investment scenario has not been encouraging due to political instability in recent years, it is really a matter of great concern that the government has stopped giving gas connections to new industrial set-ups. Even after issuing demand notes, this decision has pushed the entrepreneurs into a very tight corner. The enterprises now risk becoming unviable even before their take-off.
Quoting a former president of the apex chamber body of the country, the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), a vernacular daily recently mentioned that the government issued demand notes to provide gas connections to 75 industrial units. Accordingly, the investors imported capital machineries spending huge money, but due to non availability of gas they are unable to start up production.
However, against the 75 demand notes, only 10 industries have been given gas connections. Now the question inevitably arises : why the others have been left out? Is it not discriminatory ? From the government side it is stated that the reserve of gas is fast depleting. According to reports, the annual demand for gas in the country is eight hundred billion cubic feet, but the country has 14 trillion cubic feet of unused gas. The point is when the government knew that the gas reserve is small why did they issue demand notes to the new investors ? The businessmen have also pointed out that in the international market price of oil has greatly decreased. But PDB is selling electricity to industries at the price fixed when the price of oil in the international market was still high.
Therefore, businessmen now say that if PDB sells electricity matching it with the current cost of electricity production, then they can buy electricity to run their industries gainfully . And their point is logical. When price of oil in the international market started coming down, we in this column mentioned that the government could take this opportunity to boost economic growth through supply of electricity at lower price. But it did not pay heed. Now it is neither poised to give gas connection nor is it willing to reduce the price of electricity.
Such hesitant and uncertain policy making will not favour the growth of local industries that the country badly needs to become a middle income country from the lower-middle income one in the near future.
As for fears of running out of gas too quickly, the same is unlikely to happen if the rest 65 industries for which large investments have been already made, are given gas connections. The authorities may subsequently declare that further gas connections for industries would depend on finding and exploiting new reserves of gas.
