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The government should move gradually and reconsider energy companies’ recent proposal to raise gas prices as any sharp hike will increase overall cost of production of industries, said Abul Kasem Khan, chairperson of Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD).
“If gas prices are hiked at a steep rate, it will not be possible for the overall industry to absorb it,” he said in a phone interview with The Daily Star.
He said prices were going up globally and it was natural that the pressure would be felt here as Bangladesh imports natural gas. But prices may be increased gradually, he said.
Several gas distribution companies had recently proposed that Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission increase prices by as much as 117 per cent following a government directive to reduce dependence on subsidies.
The economy has entered into a recovery phase and any price increase will affect its revival, said Khan, a former president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry, adding that a price hike was not a long-term solution.
“We should focus on alternative sources. The country’s growing dependence on imports in the energy sector is not safe for the future,” he said.
“If we want to reduce the dependency on foreign markets, we have to focus on exploring domestics resources to ensure long-term energy security and sustain industrialisation,” he added.
“The government should focus on exploration activities on a large scale,” said Khan.
If the Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company is not capable of conducting exploration for gas and mineral resources alone, it should consider involving the private sector, he said.
Khan also suggested using alternative sources of energy.
(TDS)
