LPG to replace 70pc household gas connections: Nasrul
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid on Sunday said the government has formulated a LPG Policy to set LP gas as alternative energy in the country.
“Natural gas is very much valuable and we want best use of it. Economy has grown up, market has expanded and the government has decided to go for alternative gas and fuel for household and vehicles,” he said.
Nasrul Hamid came up with the remarks while inaugurating the ‘4th Asia LPG Summit’ at International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the capital.
World LPG Association (WLPGA), All Event Groups, Singapore and Global Event Management Services Ltd, Bangladesh are organising the summit.
Salman F Rahman, private sector development affairs adviser to Prime Minister, Nazimuddin Chowdhury, secretary of Energy and Mineral Resources Division, and David Tyler, director of World LPG Association, also spoke on the occasion.
LPG Industries Association of Bangladesh was formally launched on the opening day of the summit where Bashundhara Group Vice-chairman Shafiat Sobhan Sanvir was present. Salman F Rahman is the president of LPG Industries Association of Bangladesh.
Addressing the programme, Nasrul Hamid said natural gas is being depleted and more than 12 percent natural gas is consumed by households and vehicles. Now the country needs alternative source.
“The government has formulated a policy taking opinion of all stakeholders concerned. We are confident of providing LP gas to 70 percent people of the country with affordable price within the next two years,” he said.
Thanking the private groups for making huge investment in LPG sector, state minister said all credit goes to the country’s private sector for LPG marketing and more business groups are keen to come up with their investment.
After the implementation of LPG policy, the government will form a committee to set the parameter of LP gas price and make accessible to the market, said Nasrul, adding that they will try to keep price consistent with the international price.
Salman F Rahman said the country is now running out of natural gas due to its use for various purposes.
“We need to prioritise use of fuels and the government has rightly decided that natural gas would be used only for power generation and industrial sector. They are now discouraging use of natural gas for automobiles and domestic purpose,” he said.
As part of its responsibility, the government is putting more focus on popularising use of LP gas in the country. More than 100 foreign delegates are attending the two-day long summit and taking part in several sessions alongside the show.
More than 50 companies from local and abroad are taking part in the show with their updated technologies and benefits of LPG as alternative energy to meet the increasing demand of Bangladesh.
Bashundhara LP Gas, a concern of leading business conglomerate Bashundhara Group, has put up a mega stall in the show and also the gold sponsor of the two-day summit.
