Based on private electricity producers’ request, the Power Development Board (PDB) asked Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) to nearly triple its import of furnace oil to around 500,000 tonnes a month so that the electricity demand in the summer can be met.
The fourth tranche of the instalment was deferred due to disagreements and now talks are going on to release two tranches at once.
Government officials will face death penalty or minimum life sentence if found guilty of causing the death of enforced disappearance victims, according to a draft ordinance unveiled yesterday.
As much as $900 million has been on hold since 2022 in the central bank's escrow account
The interim government may backtrack from its initial plan to set an ambitious GDP growth target of 6 percent for the next fiscal year amid the new economic reality and settle for 5.5 percent.
The government has set new gas tariffs for the industrial sector, hiking the price by 33 percent for new units, despite objections from businesses and consumer rights organisations.
Bangladesh’s power sector is burdened by overcapacity and systemic inefficiencies, hindering its ability to deliver reliable and cost-effective electricity, says Prof Dr Saifur Rahman, a Bangladeshi expert based in the US.
Protesting students began reaching out to Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus as early as August 1, 2024, through his colleagues, at the peak of the mass uprising against the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
A total of $234 billion was siphoned off from Bangladesh between 2009 and 2023, according to the white paper on the state of the economy.
It was a clear moonlit night. There was a slight breeze. An eerie quiet blanketed the streets.
Bangladesh has lost around $14 billion a year on average to capital flight during the Awami League’s 15-year tenure, according to the draft report of the committee preparing a white paper on the economy.
Jatiya Nagorik Committee has included a former top leader of Islami Chhatra Shibir in its extended central committee, ignoring objections from a section of committee members.
The interim government is struggling to pay the power bill arrears that were caused largely by “unfair” contracts signed between the previous administration and power producers, and rising international fuel prices.
Coal-fired power plants are dialling down production or even shutting down due to financial, legal or technical issues, leading to power cuts across the country, especially the rural areas.
India’s Adani Power Jharkhand Limited has halved its power supply to Bangladesh, saying it has yet to receive outstanding bills.
Heat exposure had severe economic consequences for Bangladesh last year, leading to an estimated income loss of $21 billion due to reduced labour capacity, according to the latest Lancet Countdown report.
The immediate past Awami League government’s failure to settle an international arbitration claim has left Bangladesh in a legal tangle in the US, leading to a surprise judicial order against two top officials of the interim government during their official visit to Washington last week.
A retired bureaucrat, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan has been tasked with heading three significant ministries for the economy: power, energy and mineral resources; road transport and bridges; and railways.
