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Donors begin review meeting

Govt rules out gas export
Donors began a four-day meeting in Dhaka-yesterday to discuss the policy issues of Bangladesh’s energy sector and draw up a strategy of future lending to the fund-starved sector, reports UNB.
Energy Minister Mohammad Noor Uddin Khan opened the meeting at the city's Petro Centre, highlighting the prospect of the energy sector and its future requirement of financial and technical supports.
He gave an overview of the energy industry to the representatives of eight donor agencies and countries who had given loans to the sector but suspended new lendings creating a fund constraint to the sector.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB). one of the largest donors to the energy sector, has sponsored the high-profile meeting that will assess the per formance of the sector ana its future fund requirements.
Officials and experts of the
World Bank, the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECFj of Japan, the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Russia. Britain. Germany and Norway are attending the meet.
The minister told the donors that the meeting would benefit Bangladesh’s energy sector whicn has been going through comprehensive reforms to attract capital to meet the future power and energy needs.
He pointed out that power tariffs had been raised, efforts taken to reduce system losses further, steps taken to generate electricity in private sector and rationalisation of the Power Development Board was being done.
Besides, formulation of the security package, implementation of agreement and the Eower-purchase agreement ave already been completed and are likely to be approved within a week. Khan said.
He said the country would require 3150 megawatt power
by 2000 and 4600 mw by 2005. An investment of Tk 18.500 crore will be needed for generating power by 2002, but the government can not afford the colossal amount, he told the donors.
In this context, he said many renowned International power companies had expressed their keen interest to set up power plants in the country following the adoption of private-sector power policy.
Ruling out gas export, he said there are huge demands of gas for plants of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). power generation and fertiliser production.
"The gas to be explored is going to be utilised fully," he said. Khan also informed the donors that in future, the government would carry out privatisation programme In the energy sector.
About coal, he said there are three "high-potential" coal mines in Bangladesh and the hydrocarbon is being extracted from the Barapukuria coal mine project in Dinajpur where the reserve is 300 million tons.
The next priority will be given to mining out coal from the Khalashpir mine having a reserve of 450 million tons and from the Jamalganj field where the reserve is estimated at one billion tons, he informed the meeting.
The minister sought financial and technical support from the donors in the coal mine projects. He also sought assistance for laying more gas pipelines after the completion of the A-B Pipeline.
Referring to some on-going projects in the power sector which could not be completed on time, he requested the donors to extend the schedule so that those can be finished.
Representatives of the World Bank and ADB also spoke on the occasion.
The donors will meet the officials of the Energy Ministry and the Petrobangla and hold parleys among themselves, review the performances of the on-going projects and frame a strategy for future lending.
Today, there will be a presentation by the private-sector oil and gas companies while the donors will hold internal meeting tomorrow and meet the senior officials of the government on Thursday.
BSS adds: Donors said that Bangladesh would need to efficiently handle tariff collection and successfully accomplish establishment and maintenance of planned infrastructure in energy sector to smoothly carry out the actions, undertaken by the present government for the development of the sector.
The donors told the ministry that the country in the future should find out ways to utilise hydro-power instead of over depending on natural gas for power generation.