A parliamentary panel has recommended importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) within the next two years to meet Bangladesh’s domestic demand.
“The sooner we import LNG the better,” Md Tajul Islam, chief of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Power, Energy and Natural Resources, told bdnews24.com on Sunday.
The suggestion comes as Bangladesh is failing to meet the rising demand for gas with local production.
Natural gas is mostly used in producing electricity.
He said they had made the suggestion to “ensure that gas is supplied as per the demand”.
“A team of foreign experts is coming on June 23 to advice on LNG import,” Islam said after the panel’s meeting. “The panel has emphasised initiating gas import process quickly after a discussion with the experts.”
LNG terminals are necessary to import gas.
The incumbent Awami League-led government has included LNG terminals construction in its priority projects.
The government has started working on financial and technical aspects of setting up a proposed terminal at Cox’s Bazar’s Moheshkhali.
A media statement from the Parliament Secretariat said Sunday’s meeting also recommended increasing fuel oil reserve capacity urgently given Bangladesh’s increasing demand for it.
It also suggested setting up of coal-fired power plants to bring down dependency on natural gas.
The government in April signed a deal with a Chinese company to set up a 1,320 megawatt capacity coal-fired power plant at Moheshkhali.
Power-starved Bangladesh approved installation of five thermal power plants — with production capacity between 1,500MW and 2,500 MW — in September last year amid criticism over a proposed coal-based plant at Rampal near the Sundarbans.
Source: UNBConnect
