Power, gas crisis may take at least 2 years to resolve: Khosru
The government is finalising LNG terminals, gas storage and an integrated energy mix to address the crisis, Khosru says.
Highlights:
- Government is finalising plans for floating LNG terminals
- Onshore gas storage facilities are also being planned
- Transmission constraints remain a major problem despite power capacity
- Energy mix will include renewables, gas and potentially coal
- NBR to separate tax policy formulation from execution
- Government plans to fully automate tax services
Bangladesh's ongoing power and gas crisis cannot be resolved within six months or even a year and may take at least two years, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said today (16 August).
"Nothing on electricity and gas can be solved within six months. No solution is possible within a year either. It will take at least two years," he said while speaking at an AmCham luncheon titled "Building Investor Confidence: From Policy Reform to Effective Implementation" at InterContinental Dhaka.
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Khosru acknowledged that the government had inherited the crisis but said it was working to address it as quickly as possible.
He said plans for floating LNG terminals and onshore gas storage facilities were being finalised, with details expected to be announced within the next few days.
On electricity, the minister said Bangladesh had substantial power generation capacity, but transmission had emerged as a major problem.
The government is also finalising the country's power and energy mix, which will include renewable energy and gas-based generation, while coal-based power is also being considered.
"We are moving forward with an integrated energy mix," Khosru said, adding that the government expects major changes in the power and gas sectors in due course.
The finance minister also said the government plans to put tax policy formulation in the hands of an expert group rather than bureaucrats as part of its taxation reforms.
He said the National Board of Revenue (NBR) would be bifurcated, separating tax policy formulation from its execution.
"The policy-making body will be an expert group. Not bureaucrats," Khosru said.
The government is also moving towards fully automating the tax system, with tax returns, refunds and other services eventually handled online on a real-time basis.
Yesterday, Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir also said Bangladesh may need about two years to build the infrastructure required to overcome the ongoing energy crisis.
"It will take about two years to build the necessary infrastructure, including expanding fuel terminal capacity and drilling new gas wells," he told reporters in Sylhet.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman apologised to the people for the ongoing power and gas shortages and assured that his government was taking urgent steps to ease the crisis.
He expressed hope that the gas situation would improve significantly within the next few days.
