The Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) has expressed concern over the recent initiative to hike the price of gas.
They said that if the industrial production in Bangladesh rebounds and does well in exporting products, the gas price hike will reduce competitiveness in the global arena.
The concern came at the first meeting of FBCCI's standing committee on power energy and utilities held at the FBCCI office on Wednesday.
Meanwhile gas extraction, transmission and distribution companies have started submitting proposals to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) to increase prices.
In the meeting, FBCCI senior vice-president Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu said China and India would continue to operate coal-fired power plants for another 20 years to sustain economic growth.
So, Bangladesh should also take initiative to ensure the best use of coal reserves in the country, he said.
Babu emphasized on expanding domestic gas exploration activities on a large scale adding that BAPEX could not do it alone, it should speed up the digging of exploration wells in a joint venture with the private sector.
Abul Kasem Khan, director-in-charge of the standing committee said the country's growing dependence on imports in the energy sector was not safe for the future. It is important to harness domestic resources to ensure long-term energy security and sustain industrialization.
He favoured power generation by extracting coal from domestic source.
FBCCI Director Md.
HM
Editor : M. Shamsur Rahman
Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.
Editor : M. Shamsur Rahman
Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.
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