90-day relief on bills, loans urged
The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) has demanded a 90-day moratorium on gas and electricity bill payments, along with a three-month suspension of loan instalments, for industrial units affected by prolonged utility disruptions.
In separate letters sent on Saturday to the power, energy and mineral resources minister and the finance minister, the chamber also called for a waiver on penalties for delayed utility payments and a suspension of bank interest on loans taken by affected industries during the period.
Both letters were signed by CCCI President Mohammad Amirul Haque
The chamber said sustained disruptions in gas and electricity supply had severely hit production at export-oriented garment, textile and plastic factories, as well as small, medium and large manufacturing units nationwide.
Many factories, it said, had either shut down or gone into effective layoff as a result.
In his letter to Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood, CCCI President Mohammad Amirul Haque said almost all factories had suffered substantial financial losses due to the reduced and erratic gas and power supply.
As production fell, exports and sales also declined sharply, or stopped altogether in some cases, making it difficult for businesses to meet expenses such as wages, bank interest, utility bills and daily operating costs, the letter said.
The chamber urged the government to refrain from disconnecting gas and electricity connections to industrial units and to replace the existing month-to-month payment practice with a 90-day, penalty-free grace period.
It further proposed that penalty-free payment facilities remain in place for at least six months, arguing that the measure would give affected businesses breathing space to recover losses and help sustain uninterrupted industrial production.
In a separate letter to Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, the chamber sought a three-month suspension of loan instalment payments along with a waiver of bank interest for industries hit by the utility crisis.
It warned that forcing businesses to keep bearing high borrowing costs amid severe production and revenue losses would deepen their financial distress, which could in turn undermine the government’s efforts to accelerate industrialisation and foster a business-friendly investment climate.
The chamber added that the situation could send a negative signal to local and foreign investors about the country’s business environment.
It therefore urged the finance ministry to instruct relevant authorities to suspend loan instalments for three months and waive bank interest for garment, export-oriented and other industrial establishments affected by the gas and electricity supply disruptions.
