DHAKA: The government has allocated Tk 11,540 crore in the proposed budget for 2014-15 fiscal for the development of power and energy sector.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith made the proposal while placing the budget for the next financial year before the parliament on Thursday afternoon.
Tk 11,540 crore for power and energy sector is the 4.61 percent of total budget size Tk 250,506 crore, which is higher than .02 percent form previous fiscal.
The total allocation was proposed for development and non-development budget combined.
He said, “The ongoing progress in power generation will continue during our current tenure as well, with the implementation of medium and long term plans electricity will reach every household within the next five years.”
Muhith said, “We had set a target of generating 20,000 Megawatt of electricity by 2021. Considering the growing demand and increasing generation capacity, we have re-fixed this target at 24,000 Megawatt.”
“Several milestones have been identified to achieve the changed target. I am providing you the estimates of the year 2017 because the centres for which contract has been made will go for generation by that time,” he added.
Government will take initiatives, apart from increasing domestic production, to generate and allocate power through bilateral, multilateral and regional agreements with neighboring India, Bhutan and Nepal.
In the budget, government fixed a target to raise generation capacity to 18,162 MW of electricity by 2017, establish coal based power plants with a generation capacity of 1426 MW by 2017 which will shift the burden from gas which contributes to 78 percent of power generation in the country and establish two nuclear power plants at Ruppur with a total generation capacity of 2000 MW of electricity
Muhit told the parliament, “We will ensure reasonable extraction and utilization of natural gas. Steps are underway to enhance the capacity of BAPEX. Special emphasis will be laid on discovery of new gas and oil fields.”
“In addition, scope of assistance and cooperation with international organisations to explore new gas and oil fields in the coastal and deep sea areas will be widened.”
He added, government will take necessary steps to dig 21 wells in order to enhance gas generation capacity by 2015-16, take initiatives to reduce the misuse of gas by enhancing managerial efficiency in this sector, the minster added.
Government has plan to continue the import of Liquefied natural gas (LNG) from abroad will continue and is considering the establishment of an LNG terminal and necessary infrastructure in Maheshkhali Island, the minster informed the parliament.
**Tk 113cr allocated for Supreme Court
BDST: 1700 HRS, JUN 05, 2014
