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50 Industrial Units Lie Idle For Months

Meeting on gas, power begins with high hope in Ctg today

Staff Correspondent, ctg
The high-powered committee formed to suggest policy in order to overcome gas and power crises in Chittagong will hold a national-level meeting at Chittagong Circuit House
Chief Adviser's Special Assistant for Power and Energy Affairs M Tamim and Special Assistant for Post, Telegraph and Tele-communications MA Malek will attend the meeting as members of the committee with Commerce and Education Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman in the chair.
The meeting is being held at a time when non-availability of gas connection forced around 50 industrial units to lie idle for months despite having all preparations completed to go into commercial operations in the port city.
Non-availability of newer connections is also hindering setting up of around 300 more small and medium industries even after the units got registered with the board of investment.
Besides, garment industries in the port city are counting huge losses due to poor supply and low pressure of gas while many of them are feared to suspend operations unless the situation improves.
Addressing the first regional dialogue titled 'National dialogue on democratic transition' at the Institute of Engineers Bangladesh, Chinagong auditorium on June 28, Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed declared to form the high-powered committee to overcome the gas and power crises in the port ci ty.
Responding to the call for addressing power and gas crises at the regional dialogue, the CA said the government had already decided on forming a committee to suggest a short-time policy to overcome the gas crisis.
"The government would be actively titinking if there is any aban -doned gas field from where gas could be supplied to Chittagong on an urgent basis for a smaller period of time and take steps accordingly, he added.
Besides, the government would
also consider if any furnace oil-fired power plant like that of Khulna could be set up here to mitigate the crisis of power in Chittagong, said the CA at the dialogue.
Meanwhile, the businessmen called for increasing gas supply through new connections and addressing loadshedding and power outage the industrial units are facing here since September last.
In this regard, they suggested for gas supply to Chittagong through setting up of new pipelines from Comilla or Bibiyana gas fields as assured by M Tamim.
Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) have prepared a list of some 50 industrial units that could not go into operations here despite having all the preparations completed.
Non-operation of these industrial units is blocking investment of around Tk 2000 crore and forcing the entrepreneurs concerned count huge loss as bank interests.