Govt to import LNG for power generation from spot market: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said her government has initiated the process to import LNG from the spot market to meet the gas demand for power generation during the upcoming Ramadan, summer and the ongoing agricultural irrigation season.

The premier said this in parliament in response to a question from Jatiya Party lawmaker Fakhrul Imam.

With Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, the question-answer session of today's parliament sitting was placed on the table.

Noting the increased demand for power during the current agricultural irrigation season, Ramadan and summer, Hasina said, to keep production uninterrupted in the industrial sector, and to continue the production of captive power produced under the own management of various factories for export, the government must import LNG at a high price from the spot market.

"That is why the government has decided to increase the price of gas used only in electricity, industry, captive power and commercial sectors, leaving other consumer groups unchanged. The process of importing LNG from the spot market has already been adopted to meet the demand of gas in the said sectors," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said, in 2008, the daily gas production capacity was 1,744 million cubic feet. In 2018, production capacity increased to 2,750 million cubic feet. And currently the daily gas production capacity is 2, 300 million cubic feet.

In response to the question of ruling Awami League MP Kazim Uddin Ahmed, the prime minister said the unprecedented success of increasing agricultural production and achieving food self-sufficiency in Bangladesh during the Awami League tenure has caught the attention of the world.

In response to a question from Jatiya Party MP Rustum Ali Faraji, Sheikh Hasina said the government is keeping a watchful eye on global observations regarding the possibility of a recession in the world economy in 2023 and is taking various steps to keep Bangladesh free from the effects of a possible recession. Fiscal policy and monetary policy are coordinated very carefully.