The Bangladesh CNG Filling Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association has withdrawn its planned nationwide shutdown of CNG filling stations on July 30, citing the ongoing gas supply crisis following a fire at an LNG terminal in Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar.
The decision was announced at a press conference held on Monday at Akram Tower in Bijoynagar, Dhaka.
The association had earlier planned to suspend CNG sales from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight on July 30 to press for an increase in the sales commission for CNG. However, it said the program had been cancelled to avoid adding to public hardship during the current gas shortage.
Bangladesh has two floating LNG terminals in Maheshkhali that regasify imported liquefied natural gas for distribution across the country. Gas supply from one of the terminals was suspended after a fire broke out there last Tuesday, intensifying the nationwide gas crisis.
Association leaders said they decided to withdraw the protest in consideration of the difficulties already faced by consumers and to support the government’s efforts to manage the energy shortage.
However, they warned that if their demands remain unmet, they will proceed with an indefinite nationwide closure of all CNG filling stations from August 23.
General Secretary Farhan Noor said the association does not want to worsen public suffering while gas supplies are already disrupted due to the Maheshkhali incident.
Steering Committee Convener Amiruzzaman Chowdhury said the sector has been facing long-standing challenges and that repeated appeals to the government have so far resulted only in assurances, with no concrete solutions.
The association noted that the CNG sales commission has remained at Tk 8 per cubic meter since September 1, 2015. It argued that rising inflation, higher wages, increased equipment costs, bank charges, land lease fees, and various government licensing costs have made the current commission financially unsustainable.
It has demanded that the commission be raised to Tk 13.96 per cubic meter to ensure the viability of CNG filling station operations.
