STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission has increased liquefied petroleum gas price by Tk 4 a kg with effect from yesterday.
People have to pay an additional Tk 48 to buy a 12kg cylinder, the most popular way households get cooking gas. Now the 12kg LPG cylinder price will be Tk 1,439, which was earlier Tk 1,391.
It is the third consecutive hike after the price came down in December-January. The price of a 12kg cylinder was Tk 1,178 in January.
The price of LPG for motor vehicles has also increased to Tk 67.02 a litre from Tk 63.07.
BERC Chairman Abdul Jalil said the global price hike of Saudi CP (contract price) due to the Russia-Ukraine war and also the increase in taka-dollar rate are the key reasons for the new price hike.
Now each dollar’s exchange rate is Tk 85.25, which was earlier Tk 85.07, he said while announcing the new price.
He said the CP has risen globally to $953 from $911.25 per tonne.
“It is hard to predict whether the price will go up or down in the current global situation,” he said.
According to industry insiders, the Saudi CP is normally announced at the end of every month to make it effective for the next month, and it takes at least seven-10 days for a shipment of the fuel to arrive in the country.
Most Bangladeshi private companies import bulk LPG from the Middle East based on Saudi CP and market it locally.
Padma bridge to open in June: Quader
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The Padma bridge will be open to traffic in June this year, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said yesterday.
“The overall progress of the Padma Bridge Project work is 92 percent,” he said while speaking at a review meeting on the progress of construction of the project at the Bridges Division.
In addition, the progress of installation work for gas pipeline is 99 percent and 400KVA power lines is 79 percent.
14 out of 15 sugar mills suffer losses
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Fourteen out of 15 government sugar mills are incurring loss. Only one mill is making profits, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun told parliament yesterday.
In reply to a query from ruling Awami League lawmaker Ali Azam, he said sugarcane threshing at six out of 14 non-profit sugar mills (Panchagarh, Setabganj, Shayampur, Rangpur, Pana and Kushtia) has remained suspended since 2020-2021 season.