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Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan has slammed the previous government for allocating power plants based solely on personal connections bypassing competitive process.

“There was no competition in the allocation of power plants. If you had had personal connections, you would have got a power plant,” he said.

The adviser stated that as a temporary solution to address energy shortages in the industrial sector, the Bhola LNG station has been opened up, which had previously been monopolised by a single company.

He emphasised that no procurement in the energy and power sector will take place without open competition. As part of this commitment, the ‘black law’ of 2010 has been repealed, he added.

About the demand for gas, he said, “We need at least 4000 mmcfd gas but the supply is lower than 3000 mmcfd”.

“In Bhola, we have 60-70 mmcfd gas reserve. The government is going for an open bidding not only for Bhola, but also for all procurement process related to power and energy to ensure fair competition. In the power sector, IPP is outdated, which should be replaced by merchant power plant system,” he said.

Regarding the solar project funding, he said that the lending by banks should be asset-based and cash-flow-based rather than collateral-based ones.

He revealed that advertisements for 40 solar power plant projects will be published in the newspapers soon, with the government arranging land for interested investors.

Speaking on the occasion, DCCI President Ashraf Ahmed said the economy of Bangladesh has transformed from an agrarian to industrial economy in the last 50 years. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure uninterrupted energy supply at a sustainable price to grow business activities, he added.

In his presentation, Dr. Mohammad Tamim, a professor at the Department of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Engineering, BUET, said that long-term energy pricing strategies will not be practical while the focus should be on a 3- to 5-year period.

He underscored the importance of exploring domestic gas reserves to mitigate rising import costs.

Dr. Badrul Imam, honorary professor at Department of Geology, University of Dhaka, said despite the huge potential of natural gas, the reluctance of exploration has led the country to today’s situation. “Besides, our country has shown more interest in importing LNG to produce gas.”

He noted that geographically, Bangladesh is located in a place like Nigeria and the United States, with a huge deposit of gas under it. The professor called for paying more focus on own gas exploration that will provide a good return in the long term.

Dr. Ijaz Hossain, professor and dean of engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, BUET said industrialists should increase their involvement with the government so that the government cannot put up the price of energy without consulting with the business community.

“Due to instability in the dollar price, energy has now become expensive, that has an impact on inflation and the overall economy. So we need to increase our natural resource exploration,” he said.

He also proposed utilizing unused or underutilized land for solar power projects to produce low cost renewable energy.

Imran Karim, vice chairman, Confidence Group, engineer Md. Nurul Aktar, president, Bangladesh Solar & Renewable Energy Association and convener, DCCI’s Energy Standing Committee, Barrister Shahwar Jamal Nizam, partner, DFDL Bangladesh and Saumitra Kumar Mutsuddi, head of corporate affairs, BSRM, also spoke on the occasion.

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