Tk26,066 crore proposed for continuation of exiting projects in Power and Energy division

Without any new directives regarding overcapacity of electricity, energy supply security and renewable energy generation, a total of Tk26,066 crore has been proposed for the Power Division and the Energy and Mineral Resources Division in the 2022-2023 fiscal budget.

Finance AHM Mustafa Kamal FCA placed the budget proposal for the FY23 at the National Parliament on Thursday.

In the outgoing fiscal year, the allocation of the sectors was Tk27,484 crore. 

In his budget speech the finance minister emphasised on the continuity of the existing power generation and transmission projects. 

However, he did not give any direction on energy security, especially how gas supply would be ensured in the coming days amid the depleting local supply and price volatility of the imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) price in the global market.

Mustafa Kamal highlighted the government's milestone achievement of 100% electrification across the country and power generation capacity.  He also focused on the system loss in power distribution which has been reduced to 8% from the previous 14%.

He hopes that the country will be able to ensure quality electricity supply to all in the near future, after the completion of the existing 34 Power Plants with a capacity of 13,530MW that include some mega projects.

To meet the increasing demand for fuel in the country, the Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL) Unit-2 which has a capacity of refining 15 lakh tonnes of oil, will be enhancing its refining capacity by 30 lakh tonnes, said the finance minister. 

"After implementation of the project, the refining capacity of Eastern Refinery Limited will be increased to 45 lakh metric tonnes per annum," he said.

However, the latest information says that, the project was undertaken few 11 years' back but still there is no progress. Even the probable contractor has abandoned the project recently over some unknown reasons.