Message of state minister

State minister for power and energy

Natural gas is the preferred fuel of the world. It is cheap, clean and easy burning. In piped form this gas is being used by about 30 million people, mainly in urban areas in Bangladesh.

This piped gas, which goes to the households and the vehicle industry, amounts to roughly 12 percent of the total gas used in Bangladesh. If this gas could be rerouted to industries, it will have a resounding economic impact.

So, to keep up with the current government challenge to provide safe, easily accessible and affordable household energy for everyone, we are promoting the use of LPG through cylinders.

LPG is the choice as household energy in Brazil, India, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand and other populous and developing nations.

Other than supplying energy to the urban centre, the LPG cylinder is also facilitating the transformation from using unsustainable biomass to clean burning fuel in these countries. Especially in India, there are more than 200 million cylinders in circulation and in Brazil, 98 percent households use LPG.

LPG is a mixture of propane and butane, which are some of the most efficient hydrocarbons.

Since it is colourless and odourless, there are some trace amounts of other gases. The cylinders are easy to set up, refuel and use. It is safer than the piped gas in regards to our decades-old gas mains. The government has given licence to more than 50 LPG companies in the last three years in a bid to create an open and competitive market.

Many of the companies have employed innovative solutions in accessibility and safety that makes LPG the household fuel of choice. We are also devising a market control mechanism in a way that cylinders will always be within the reach of families.

The other benefit of LPG is its portability and convenience. Large tankers of LPG can be set up around tour apartment or your neighbourhood and can be piped directly to your house.

Keeping in line with the government's vision of a developed Bangladesh by 2041, the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources deems LPG can lead the way in domestic fuel.