Despite no gas crisis, Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Limited has suddenly stopped gas supply to the state-owned Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Factory Limited (CUFL) located in Anwara Upazila of Chittagong. As a result, the factory, which is run by Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), has stopped fertilizer production.
Earlier, urea fertilizer production was stopped at the factory from January 3 to February 25 due to a mechanical fault (reactor problem). After a month and a half, production stopped again at the factory.
Uttam Chowdhury, head of the production department of CUFL, confirmed the fact that production stopped again. He said that production had to be stopped this morning due to lack of gas supply.
It is learned that CUFL takes gas from Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited (KGDCL), a gas distribution company of state-owned Petrobangla, for urea production.
According to KGDCL sources, 40 million cubic feet of gas is supplied to the CUFL factory daily. On the other hand, 42 to 43 million cubic feet of gas is supplied to Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company (KAFCO), another private fertilizer manufacturing factory in Chittagong.
Confirming the closure of the factory, CUFL Managing Director (MD) Mizanur Rahman said, we were informed that gas supply will be stopped from 6 am on Friday. That is why we have gone into factory shutdown. When asked why gas supply was stopped, he said, we do not know anything about this, Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited can inform. There is no problem from our side.
Regarding the stoppage of gas supply, Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited General Manager Engineer Aminur Rahman said, we do not decide on the matter of distributing gas, we do it as we are told. When we are asked to supply to the institution, we do it, and when we are asked to stop, we stop it. He also said, there is no gas crisis in Chittagong, maybe the gas supply has been stopped for some other reason.
It is worth noting that on October 29, 1987, the government established the fertilizer factory in Rangadia, Anwara Upazila, on the south bank of the Karnaphuli River, with technical assistance from Japan. When operational, the CUFL factory produced 1,700 metric tons of fertilizer daily.
