300 gas wells, 3 LNG terminals planned
The BNP government unveiled a sweeping list of economic, energy, welfare and infrastructure initiatives, ranging from drilling 300 gas wells and providing start-up financing to young entrepreneurs to building new hospitals, expanding solar power and pursuing overseas labour markets.
Speaking at a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday, organised by the prime minister’s press wing to highlight government activities, Mahdi Amin said a programme to drill 150 new wells had already begun as a medium-term response to the shortage, with another 150 to be drilled in the next phase.
To expand LNG capacity, the government plans to add three terminals to the two already in operation, with efforts underway to bring the third into operation before 2028 if possible.
As a longer-term measure, the Eastern Refinery in Chattogram is being expanded to strengthen energy security and capacity. International financing of $1 billion has been secured and work has begun, he added.
Referring to the prime minister’s recent meeting with business and industry leaders, Mahdi Amin said Tarique Rahman had pledged to restore normalcy as quickly as possible by addressing the gas supply crisis based on ground realities.
“Gas flow has increased considerably since then. Visible improvement in gas supply can be seen. This positive trend will continue in the coming days,” he said.
He said diesel prices remained relatively low compared with other countries, particularly neighbouring ones, adding that the government was providing the highest level of subsidy in the sector to avoid additional pressure on consumers.
Moody’s outlook
Mahdi Amin called it “good news” that Moody’s Ratings had revised Bangladesh’s sovereign outlook from “negative” to “stable” after a long period in negative territory.
“This means Bangladesh is now a stable country for investment globally. As a result, not only will foreign investment in Bangladesh increase, but its international standing will also improve,” he said.
Trade, investment and employment would also move in a positive direction, he said, creating jobs needed to empower women and young people.
Citing Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics data, he said inflation had eased compared with both the same period last year and the previous month, and that the rate at which food and commodity prices were rising had also declined.
Remittances and overseas jobs
Remittances rose 13.10 per cent over six months despite the global economic crisis, the spokesperson said, attributing the increase to the government’s monetary policy.
He said there were prospects for 10,000 Bangladeshi workers a year to migrate legally to Italy after language and technical training, and that new opportunities had opened in Oman’s agriculture and modern fisheries sectors after restrictions on Bangladeshi workers were lifted.
On agriculture, he said the government was working to ensure sufficient fertiliser supply and set up a central control room, with a surplus of 1.568 million tonnes against demand through February.
Seven areas of focus
Mahdi Amin said the government had taken measures for public welfare and state reform in seven broad areas, including youth empowerment, education and IT innovation, women’s advancement, social protection, climate-resilient industrialisation, healthcare and transport infrastructure, and institutional governance and foreign relations.
The government wanted to break away from conventional methods of governance and take services to people’s doorsteps, he said.
Saying the government was rebuilding the country from the “rubble left by 16 years of fascism”, he argued it was difficult to resolve all problems in seven months. “However, the government’s utmost sincerity and goodwill are visible,” he said, calling on people to work together across party and political lines.
Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Saleh Shibli said the government had completed 212 days in office and that the gas and electricity situation was now under control. “Some measures will take time to produce results. If the people remain patient, they will see good results,” he said.
Additional Press Secretary Atikur Rahman Rumon said the prime minister believed in press freedom, adding that the press wing would not take advantage of it and would cooperate with him.
