Industry insiders have said that due to years of interruption in gas supply, export-oriented industries and other manufacturing units were facing an acute crisis.
They also said that the country鈥檚 major industries, such as textiles, ceramics and the captive power plants of the readymade garment industry, require a gas pressure of 15 per square inch, but they usually get 2 or 3 PSI, even sometimes zero.
Factory units located at industrial hubs like Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Narsingdi, Manikganj and Mymensingh are facing acute interruptions in the gas supply.
Moreover, the country cannot import sufficient LNG due to a reserve crunch, said the industry people.
The country requires around 4,000 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) of gas, including imported energy. The current supply is under 3,000 MMcfd, leaving a supply deficit exceeding 1,000 MMcfd.
Talking to 抖阴精品, Showkat Aziz Russell, president of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, said that 50 per cent of the textile mills had been closed due to a gas shortage.
鈥極ur loan is becoming classified as overdue in the bank is increasing. We yet to receive any instructions from Petrobangla or any other government authority,鈥� he added.
The government did not import fertiliser on time, and now it diverts gas to fertiliser factories, further worsening the situation.
The BTMA president urged the government to review contract signed under the previous regime according to the price index.
He also said that if the government does not take immediate action, the workers of the closed factories might take to the streets.
The ceramic industry is a fully gas-dependent process industry. Gas is considered a raw material and there is no alternative fuel to gas in this sector.
According to industry insiders, ceramic factories need a pressure of 15 PSI, but they experienced drops to as low as 2 or 3 PSI or even zero.
Talking to 抖阴精品, Moynul Islam, acting president of the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that most of their factories run at 50 per cent of their total capacity.
鈥楧ue to acute gas crisis, our sector is incurring loss of nearly Tk 300 crore per month. Even Petrobangla couldn鈥檛 share any measures or future prospects about the improvement of the situation,鈥� he added.
Petrobangla told them that the situation may improve soon only if adequate LNG was imported or if they can explore new gas fields.
鈥業n the last 9 years from 2015 to 2023, the authority hiked the gas price by about 345 per cent and in 2023, they increased the price by about 150 per cent and promised us to supply uninterrupted gas, but they can鈥檛,鈥� Moynul said.
He also said that more than 50 registered ceramic companies had suspended their reinvestments due to the gas crisis alone, including five newly established factories that could not start production.
The readymade garment sector uses gas mainly to generate captive power. Due to the interruption in the gas聽聽 supply, the industry is also facing multifaceted challenges.
Md Abul Kalam, managing director of Chaity Group and panel leader of Shammilita Parishad of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told 抖阴精品 that due to the gas crisis, the sector鈥檚 production had decreased by about 25 per cent.
Moreover, as the textile sector has been affected, the RMG sector is also facing problems getting raw materials.
鈥楽ince we generate power through gas in our sector, disruption in gas supply is also damaging our machinery, reducing its lifespan, increasing maintenance costs and damaging sensitive components,鈥� he added.
He also said that despite increasing the price of gas by almost twofold in 2023, the authorities were not able to supply gas uninterruptedly, as they promised.
In the last week of January, the apex trade bodies of the country鈥檚 major four industrial sectors, BGMEA, BKMEA, BTMA and BTTLMEA, sent a joint letter to Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, adviser to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.
In the letter, the manufacturers said that the factories were operating on insufficient gas pressure and uncertainty and were suffering substantial financial losses.
The letter also stated that production in the industry-dense area had decreased by 50-60 per cent due to gas shortage, which has disrupted the supply chain and factories鈥� production.
Moreover, the timely supply of raw materials to the RMG sector cannot be ensured, which disrupts timely shipments.
Recently at an event at the ERF, the energy adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan said that the situation was unlikely to improve until new gas fields were developed in the country.
Despite repeated attempts, Petrobangla chairman Md Rezanur Rahman could not be reached for a comment regarding the situation.