The government today formed a committee headed by Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Ziaul Hasan Siddiqui to raise funds for generating electricity. The committee would raise up to $10 billion and outline a plan how the money would be used.

After a meeting at the secretariat, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Enamul Haque told reporters that 7,000 megawatts of electricity would be generated within the next five years. Prime Minister's Adviser for Energy Towfique-e-Elahi Chowdhury said the money of the fund would be invested in the energy sector instead of being dependent on donors. He stressed creating a congenial atmosphere so that the businessmen feel free to invest in the sector. The committee would be manned by experts from various sectors.

-Daily star

Committee formed on 7000 MW power by 5yrs

bdnews: The government has formed a committee to formulate a proposal and raise a fund to produce 7,000 megawatt power by next five years. Ziaul Hasan Siddique, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, heads the committee that has representatives from banks and financial institutions as other members. However, a specific proposal is needed to raise funds from the capital market, said the representatives of theses organisations, who attended the meeting. The committee was formed at a meeting at the Secretariat on Wednesday.

"The government has planned to generate seven thousand megawatt electricity by next five years. The government will act on the suggestions of the committee," state minister for power Enamul Haque said after the meeting. "The fund will be formed with the technical suggestions of the committee," state minister for energy, power and mineral resources Enamul Haque said reporters after the meeting.

The committee will formulate proposals on administrative structure, management procedure and working method, officials said. Dhaka Stock Exchange chairman Rakibur Rahman said that DESCO, Power Grid Company and Titas Gas had collected 20,000 crore taka from the capital market in last ten years.

The government could gather $10 billion from the capital market by next five years through initiatives based on specific proposal, he added. The prime minister's adviser for energy, Toufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, said, "It will be a positive initiative by the government. The sector fully depends on foreign donors. This fund will reduce foreign dependency." Haque presided over the meeting where energy secretary Mohammad Mohsin and power secretary Abul Kalam Azad were also present, among others.

The power sector is reeling from severe crisis as no considerable power has been added anew to national grid in recent times. Bangladesh turned its clocks an hour ahead to 12 midnight at 11pm on June 19 as the energy-starved nation introduced Daylight Saving Time for 'an extra hour of daylight' to save power. The decades-old power plants are mostly fuelled by gas, but the reserves are depleting, officials said. The country faces a shortage of up to 250 million cubic feet of gas a day.

The government has temporarily closed down several fertiliser manufacturing plants to divert the natural gas they use to generate more electricity. Frequent power failures cut the country's gross domestic product by around $1 billion annually, the World Bank has said, and the country would need $1.5 billion annual investment for power generation and transmission, and natural gas exploration. Uninterrupted use of power depends on weather as power outage increases if temperature is low or it rains. However, power outage starts if temperature is high.