The government will start restoring gas and electricity supplies to industries to their pre-August levels from Tuesday night, FBCCI Administrator Md Fazlul Hoque said on Monday.
He made the disclosure after a nearly three-hour meeting between Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and representatives of 21 business organisations at the Secretariat.
“The prime minister said that from tomorrow night we will be able to return to the previous situation in terms of gas and electricity supply,” Hoque told reporters after the meeting.
“This is the biggest achievement and the biggest relief from today’s meeting,” he said.
Clarifying the “previous situation”, Hoque said the prime minister was referring to the level of gas and electricity supply before the crisis intensified in August.
The assurance came as industries have been facing worsening energy shortages, disrupting production and putting pressure on businesses.
Representatives of the BGMEA, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ICC Bangladesh, Dhaka Chamber, BTMA and BKMEA were among those attending the meeting.
Prime Minister’s Adviser Mahdi Amin said the meeting focused on issues critical to business, employment and industrialisation, particularly gas, electricity, fuel and mineral resources.
He said the government had already begun work on several long-term measures to address the power crisis, including plans to build five terminals.
“The accumulated crisis of 16 years cannot be solved overnight,” Amin said.
The government is also working to develop an integrated power-generation system based on gas, coal and other sources, while giving priority to solar energy, he said.
“Our electricity sector will be diversified in the coming days and we will become self-sufficient in energy resources,” Amin said.
The government’s immediate move to restore industrial energy supplies is expected to provide some relief to manufacturers, many of whom have been struggling with production disruptions caused by inadequate gas and electricity.