Bangladesh has spent nearly $2 billion on energy imports since the current government took office, with rising global fuel prices driving up electricity generation costs and putting additional pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves, Energy Adviser Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku said on Monday.

Speaking as the chief guest at a workshop titled “Unnayan Kanthoshor” organised by the National Development Programme (NDP) at the China Friendship Conference Center in Dhaka, Tuku said increasing expenditure in the power and energy sector remains one of the government’s major challenges.

He attributed the higher import costs to ongoing global conflicts and geopolitical tensions, which have significantly increased fuel prices in international markets and affected Bangladesh’s overall economy.

The energy adviser also criticised the previous government for failing to make meaningful progress in exploring and extracting offshore energy resources despite securing maritime boundaries, while several neighbouring countries have advanced considerably in the sector.

Tuku stressed the importance of expanding renewable energy to build a welfare-oriented state and called for greater investment and technical support from development partners.

He said work is progressing on the government’s plan to establish solar power plants with a combined generation capacity of 10,000 megawatts across the country.

To encourage wider adoption of renewable energy, the government has also retained tax incentives in the current budget for both individual and commercial users of solar power, he added.