The government has short listed 17 companies for buying liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Cabinet committee on economic affairs approved a master sale and purchase agreement in connection to the purchase, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told journalist at the Secretariat in Dhaka this afternoon.

Out of 43 companies' Expressions of Interest (EOI), the cabinet committee has selected the 17 companies, the minister said adding that the purchase will be made at a spot market.

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Subsidy in gas sector to rise if price not adjusted

The decision was taken in a meeting at the cabinet division, Kamal said.

The government started importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) in August last year in the face of falling domestic production.

Since then, the government has spent Tk 14,000 crore to subsidise the import, he said, adding that the price of imported gas was much higher than that produced locally.

Gas production cost stands at Tk 14 per cubic metre, after the imported LNG is mixed with the locally produced gas. At the moment, the government sells it at Tk 7.17.