Energy bottlenecks are strangling industrial growth

BANGLADESH’S aspiration to become a competitive manufacturing hub rests on a simple but indispensable foundation: reliable energy.

Yet the persistent delay in providing industrial gas connections is leaving newly built factories idle, immobilising investments worth hundreds of crores of taka and eroding business confidence at a time when the economy can least afford it.

The concerns voiced by leading industrialists at a recent energy security dialogue deserve urgent policy attention, reports The New Nation on Friday.

Investors have not only completed factory construction but have also paid demand notes to Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company in anticipation of receiving gas connections.

Despite fulfilling these obligations, many remain unable to commence production.

Such administrative and infrastructural delays effectively lock up capital, postpone job creation and expose businesses to mounting financial liabilities, including the risk of loan defaults.

This is not merely a private-sector grievance. It is a national economic concern.

Idle factories generate neither exports nor employment, while delayed production weakens industrial output and undermines the country’s investment climate.

In an increasingly competitive global market, uncertainty over energy availability can easily discourage both domestic entrepreneurs and foreign investors from committing fresh capital.

The figures themselves are revealing. Nearly 1,300 industrial gas connection applications remain pending, including hundreds for which demand notes have already been issued.

In industrial centres such as Gazipur, demand far exceeds available supply, reflecting structural deficiencies in gas production, transmission and distribution.

These supply constraints are further compounded by voltage fluctuations and unplanned power interruptions that continue to inflate production costs and disrupt supply chains.

The government’s plans to intensify domestic gas exploration, procure additional drilling rigs and consider reforms such as private participation in petroleum imports and power distribution are welcome. However, these are medium- to long-term initiatives.

They cannot substitute for immediate measures to improve gas allocation, expedite pending connections and ensure greater transparency in distribution.

Bangladesh’s industrialisation drive cannot succeed if productive investments remain trapped behind energy shortages.

We have to say, the authorities must treat industrial gas supply not merely as a utility service but as strategic economic infrastructure.

A predictable, transparent and efficient energy regime is indispensable for sustaining investment, expanding exports and creating employment.

We believe, without decisive action, the country’s industrial ambitions risk being constrained not by a lack of entrepreneurial initiative, but by avoidable failures in energy governance.