Due to the foreign exchange dollar-crisis, the import bill arrears of the power and energy sector are increasing. Fawzul Kabir Khan, Advisor on Power, Energy and Mineral Resources of the Interim Government, said that the liability of paying foreign prices for electricity and energy imports is about 220 billion US dollars (Tk 25,740 crore).
This information was informed in the press release sent by the Ministry of Electricity, Energy and Mineral Resources on Wednesday. It is said that the Adviser on Power, Energy and Mineral Resources has requested the World Bank to provide $100 million for budget support in the power and energy sector. This was discussed in the meeting with the World Bank delegation at the Secretariat yesterday.
A delegation of 4 members led by Abdoulaye Sek, Country Director of the World Bank in Bangladesh met with the advisor. At that time, Muhammad Fawzul Kabir Khan, Advisor on Power, Energy and Mineral Resources said, the present government has come up with a strong mandate. Henceforth, the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2006 and the Public Procurement Rules, 2008 will be used in all procurements. Apart from this, the formulation of plans to increase the use of renewable energy in the power and energy sectors will be accelerated.
According to the notification, on the first day of taking charge, the ongoing activities under the Rapid Increase in Supply of Electricity and Energy (Special Provisions) Act 2010 (Amended 2021) and the government’s electricity and gas price determination under Section 34A of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (Amended) Act 2023 were suspended. Advisor suspends power. If necessary, initiatives will be taken to revise or cancel these two laws.
Abdoulaye Sek, Country Director of the World Bank, congratulated the adviser on his new responsibilities and said that he is ready to work with the current government.
The senior secretary of the electricity department said in the meeting. Habibur Rahman, Secretary of Energy and Mineral Resources Department. Nurul Alam, Finance Secretary. Khayeruzzaman Majumdar and senior officials of the ministry were present.
