United News of Bangladesh

The government may need one and a half to two years to overcome the existing energy crisis and make the fuel and power sector suitable for supporting the country’s productive economy, State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki said on Wednesday. “The energy sector is one of the most important areas. We cannot move forward without resolving its problems,” he told reporters after an ECNEC meeting. Her said the government is working to increase emergency oil reserves from the current one and a half months to three months, with plans to establish another storage unit to eventually raise the reserve to six months. He said the government is also exploring new sources in different countries to meet the immediate fuel requirement through imports. However, importing gas alone would not solve the problem, as LNG receiving and conversion facilities are also required, he said, adding that setting up such infrastructure would take time. “So, people will have to give us the minimum time required to implement these projects,” the state minister said expressing hope that people would understand the need for the transition period. He described the power and energy sector as a major challenge, saying it was made heavily import-dependent and became an area of widespread irregularities. The state minister said the recent power and gas crisis was partly caused by faults in several boilers, which have already been repaired. As a result, the situation has improved to a relatively tolerable level compared with the situation a month ago, he added. “Even then, we do not have enough fuel and electricity to meet the existing demand for gas, power and other energy,” he said. Saki said the government is making all-out efforts to increase domestic gas production while simultaneously pursuing a major shift towards renewable energy. Referring to the government’s Five-Year Strategic Framework for Reform and Development, he said the government inherited a fragile and damaged economy and would therefore have to pass through a recovery period before moving towards transformation and reconstruction. “The first two years will be the recovery period, the next three years will be the transition period, and within five years we aim to rebuild the economy with acceleration,” he said. Saki said the government has prepared a roadmap titled “From Fragility to Prosperity” to guide the country towards a democratic, humane and welfare-oriented Bangladesh.