UNB :
Moves taken over the past year since the incumbent government assumed power to launch new fossil fuel projects or revive scrapped ones threaten to worsen Bangladesh’s economic woes, said energy experts.
Two of the moves involved liquefied natural gas import, though energy experts warned about it increasing expenses in the energy sector, which is highly subsidised.
The latest move regarding LNG supply took place during the recent visit of chief adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus to Malaysia where a memorandum of understanding was signed over the supply of LNG and petroleum products and building their infrastructures.
In January, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) signed a non-binding deal with the US-based Argent LNG to purchase five million tonnes of LNG annually.
In a bid to facilitate LNG use, the government waived 15 per cent VAT on LNG imports in the budget for the financial year of 2025-26, potentially reducing its revenue income by more than Tk 5,000 crore, considering last year’s VAT income from LNG imports.
“Can Bangladesh afford more LNG imports? No, it cannot,” said Hasan Mehedi, member secretary of Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development.
Bangladesh slipped into its worst economic crisis in decades in 2021, three years after it started importing LNG to make up for depleting local gas production.
