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Businessmen yesterday expressed worries over the energy companies’ latest proposal to raise gas prices, as they believe another hike now will increase the cost of production and ultimately slow down the economic revival amid the ongoing pandemic.
The industries will lose competitiveness if the cost of production is raised at a time when the country is struggling to recover from the epidemic, said the leaders of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).
The FBCCI’s Standing Committee on Power, Energy and Utilities raised the concern at its first meeting held at the FBCCI office in Dhaka, the apex trade body said in a statement yesterday.
Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu, senior vice-president of the FBCCI, said China and India would continue to operate coal-fired power plants for another 20 years to sustain economic growth.
Bangladesh should also take initiative to ensure the best use of coal reserves in the country, he said.
Babu emphasised on expanding the country’s gas exploration activities on a large scale.
If Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd, the national gas explorer, could not do it alone, it should speed up the digging of exploration wells in a joint venture with the private sector, he said.
Abul Kasem Khan, director-in-charge of the standing committee and director of the FBCCI, said the country’s growing dependence on imports in the energy sector is not safe for the future.
It is important to harness domestic resources to ensure long-term energy security and sustain industrialisation.
Khan voted in favour of power generation by extracting coal.
(TDS)
