Minister says high LNG prices are hurting Bangladesh's industrial development.
The power minister of Bangladesh said that high LNG prices have slowed Bangladesh's industrial development, forcing electricity outages, and stifling expenditure on development projects. This is due to the higher government spending on gas subsidies.
Iqbal Hasan Mahmud, Bangladesh's energy minister, said that the industrial growth was?slowing and that production is reducing. It is having a major effect.
The government's subsidies to gas consumers also increase as LNG prices go up. "This is impacting our budgetary provisions" for other development programs, he said.
According to calculations based upon IMF data, the South?Asian country of 170 million people that gets over 40% of its power from?mostly import LNG spent almost 4% of its annual GDP on gas and electricity subsidies before?the U.S./Israeli war against Iran.
Mahmud stated that it was becoming increasingly difficult to attend other programmes.
Bangladesh had to purchase LNG at a high price on the spot markets after the top supplier Qatar ceased exporting because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
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Mahmud stated that the blockade in the Hormuz Strait had effectively shut out Middle East suppliers of LNG.
He said that as "one of the largest exporters" of garments to America, he had to adhere to this.
Mahmud also said that the country plans to install 10,000 Megawatts of solar power in the next five year to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and to provide five-year tax breaks for investors who invest in solar and lithium battery technology.
He said that Bangladesh was 'in talks with China about installing small modular nuclear reactors.
(source: Reuters)
