কোটিপতি আমানতকারীর সংখ্যা ৬৭ হাজার ৮৭২ জন

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কোটিপতি আমানতকারীর সংখ্যা ৬৭ হাজার ৮৭২ জন

এক বছরের ব্যবধানে দেশের ব্যাংকিং খাতে কোটিপতি আমানতকারী বেড়েছে ৫ হাজার ৮৩৪ জন।

বর্তমানে মোট কোটিপতি আমানতকারীর সংখ্যা ৬৭ হাজার ৮৭২ জন। এক বছর আগেও এ সংখ্যা ছিল ৬২ হাজার ৩৮ জন। বাংলাদেশ ব্যাংকের সর্বশেষ প্রতিবেদনে এ তথ্য তুলে ধরা হয়েছে।

২০১৭ সালের সেপ্টেম্বর পর্যন্ত সময়ের তথ্য নিয়ে তৈরি করা এই প্রতিবেদনে উল্লেখ করা হয়েছে, এক বছরে পাঁচ হাজার ৮৩৪ জন কোটিপতি আমানতকারী বাড়লেও তিন মাসের ব্যবধানে (২০১৭ সালের জুন-সেপ্টেম্বর পর্যন্ত) কোটিপতি কমেছে এক হাজার ১৯ জন।

বাংলাদেশ ব্যাংকের তথ্য অনুযায়ী, ২০১৬ সালের সেপ্টেম্বর মাসের শেষে ব্যাংকে কোটিপতি আমানতকারী ছিল ৬২ হাজার ৩৮ জন। ২০১৭ সালের সেপ্টেম্বর শেষে এই সংখ্যা দাঁড়ায় ৬৭ হাজার ৮৭২ জন। তবে ২০১৭ সালের জুনের শেষে কোটিপতি আমানতকারীর সংখ্যা ছিল ৬৮ হাজার ৮৯১ জন।

প্রতিবেদনে বলা হয়েছে, ২০১৬ সালে সেপ্টেম্বরে ৫০ কোটি টাকারও বেশি পরিমাণ আমানত রাখা ব্যক্তির সংখ্যা ৭০২ জন। ২০১৭ সালের একই সময়ে ৫০ কোটি টাকারও বেশি পরিমাণ আমানত রাখা ব্যক্তির সংখ্যা বেড়ে হয়েছে ৮৫২ জন। গত বছরের সেপ্টেম্বর পর্যন্ত এক কোটি টাকা আমানত রাখা ব্যক্তি ছিলেন ৫৩ হাজার ৩৪৪ জন। ২০১৬ সালের সেপ্টেম্বর পর্যন্ত এই সংখ্যা ছিল ৪৮ হাজার ৮৯৭ জন। এই হিসাবে এক বছরের ব্যবধানে এক কোটি টাকার আমানত রাখা ব্যক্তির সংখ্যা বেড়েছে ৪ হাজার ৪৪৭ জন।

বাংলাদেশ ব্যাংকের প্রতিবেদনে বলা হয়েছে, বিভিন্ন ব্যাংকে ৬৭ হাজার ৮৭২ জন কোটিপতির মধ্যে ৫০ কোটি টাকারও বেশি পরিমাণ আমানত রাখা ব্যক্তির সংখ্যা ৮৫২ জন। তিন মাস আগে (জুনে) ৫০ কোটি টাকারও বেশি পরিমাণ আমানত রাখা ব্যক্তি ছিলেন ৮৫৩ জন।

বর্তমানে এক কোটি টাকার ওপরে আমানত রাখা ব্যক্তির সংখ্যা ৫৩ হাজার ৩৪৪ জন। তিন মাস আগে এই সংখ্যা ছিল ৫৪ হাজার ৩১৭ জনে।

সেপ্টেম্বরের শেষে ৪০ কোটি টাকারও বেশি আমানত রেখেছেন, এমন ব্যক্তি রয়েছেন ৪১৫ জন। ৩৫ কোটি টাকারও বেশি আমানত রাখা ব্যক্তির সংখ্যা ১৯৬ জন। ৩০ কোটি টাকারও বেশি আমানত রেখেছেন ২৭২ জন। ২৫ কোটি টাকারও বেশি আমানত রেখেছেন ৪৬৯ জন। ২০ কোটি টাকারও বেশি আমানত রেখেছেন ৭৯৯ জন। ১৫ কোটি টাকারও বেশি আমানত রেখেছেন এক হাজার ২৯৬ জন। ১০ কোটি টাকারও বেশি আমানত রেখেছেন দুই হাজার ৫২৪ জন। পাঁচ কোটি টাকারও বেশি আমানত রেখেছেন সাত হাজার ৭০৫ জন।

এক পরিসংখ্যানে দেখা যায়, ১৯৭২ সালে দেশে কোটিপতি ছিলেন মাত্র পাঁচজন। ১৯৭৫ সালের ডিসেম্বরে এ সংখ্যা বেড়ে দাঁড়ায় ৪৭ জনে। জিয়াউর রহমান সরকারের আমলে (ডিসেম্বর ১৯৮০) এ সংখ্যা দাঁড়ায় ৯৮ জনে। তখন তাদের আমানতের পরিমাণ ছিল ব্যাংকিং খাতের মোট আমানতের ১০ শতাংশ। এরশাদ সরকারের পতনের সময় ১৯৯০ সালের ডিসেম্বরে কোটিপতির সংখ্যা বেড়ে দাঁড়ায় ৯৪৩ জন ও আমানতের পরিমাণ ১২ শতাংশ। এ ধারাবাহিকতায় ১৯৯৬ সালের জুনে কোটিপতি ছিলেন দুই হাজার ৫৯৪ জন ও আমানতের পরিমাণ ছিল প্রায় সাড়ে ২০ শতাংশ। ২০০১ সালের সেপ্টেম্বর শেষে এ সংখ্যা দাঁড়ায় পাঁচ হাজার ১৬২ জন। মহাজোট সরকার ক্ষমতায় আসার আগে দুই বছরের তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকারের আমলে (২০০৭-০৮) এ সংখ্যা ছিল পাঁচ হাজার ১১৪। এরও আগে বিএনপি নেতৃত্বাধীন চারদলীয় জোট সরকারের আমলে (অক্টোবর ২০০১-ডিসেম্বর ২০০৬) কোটিপতির সংখ্যা বেড়ে দাঁড়ায় ৮ হাজার ৮৮৭ জনে। ২০০৮ সালে বাণিজ্যিক ব্যাংকগুলোতে এক কোটি টাকার ওপরে আমানতকারী হিসাব সংখ্যা ছিল ১৯ হাজার ১৬৩টি। ২০০৯ সালের ডিসেম্বর শেষে এই সংখ্যা ছিল ২৩ হাজার ১৩০টি। ২০১০ সালের ৩১ ডিসেম্বরের শেষে এ সংখ্যা দাঁড়ায় ২৯ হাজার ৫৩৭টি।

Foreign minister bets big on BIMSTEC

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Foreign minister bets big on BIMSTEC

The multi-sectoral sub-regional grouping needs a big push to meet its original goals of facilitating cross-border trade and connectivity, foreign affairs experts said Tuesday.

The experts, however, voiced their dismay over the low-visibility of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in the regional trade landscape.

The views came at an international conference on ‘BIMSTEC at its 20: Towards a Bay of Bengal Community’ held at the BIMSTEC secretariat in Dhaka.

If the potentials of this sub-region could be harnessed, it will help accelerate the economic growth of the member countries, they said. The BIMSTEC houses 1.7 billion people or one-fifth of the global population.

Founded in June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration, the BIMSTEC is a regional organisation comprising seven member states lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity.

Among its seven member states, five come from South Asia such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar and Thailand from Southeast Asia.

Foreign minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali, ambassador of Nepal Chop Lal Bhusal, representative of Indian foreign minister Piyush Srivsatava, and secretary-general of the BIMSTEC M Shahidul Islam addressed the inaugural session of the seminar.

In his speech, the foreign minister said that the loss of benefits for four BIMSTEC member countries including Bangladesh and Myanmar resulting from their graduation from the LDC status could be offset through enhancing trade within member countries.

Noting that the platform has failed to make any “visible progress” in the last two decades, he said the member countries should gear up their efforts to make this platform more effective and dynamic.

He said that though BIMSTEC envisages raising intra-regional trade to 21 per cent, it is only 7.0 per cent now.

The minister said the BIMSTEC, which bridges the South Asian and Southeast Asian countries, has a common space in promoting development and security but “much remains to be done as the potentials remains unexploited.” Nepal’s ambassador said the BIMSTEC had not yet made any visible progress in advancing the concrete cooperation among the member countries.

He said immediate measures were required to boost cross-border movement of cargoes, trade and energy cooperation in the region.

Representative of Indian foreign minister Piyush Srivastava said India gave BIMSTEC “huge importance” as it can contribute to the economic development of his country, especially its North-eastern states.

He expressed the hope that member countries would gear up their efforts to improve regional transport connectivity aimed at jacking up regional trade.

M Shahidul Islam said as the BIMSTEC process entered the third-decade of its existence, it is “high time we charted out the future course of the organisation”.

Initially, the economic bloc was formed with four member states with the acronym ‘BIST-EC’ (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation). Following the inclusion of Myanmar on December 22, 1997 during a special Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok, the group was renamed ‘BIMST-EC’ (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation).

With the entry of Nepal and Bhutan to the sixth Ministerial Meeting in February 2004, the name of the grouping was changed to the BIMSTEC.

Govt to give 12 deep-sea fishing licences: secretary

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Govt to give 12 deep-sea fishing licences: secretary

At least 12 new deep-sea fishing licences will be provided to trawler owners this year in a bid to fill the void Indian and Myanmarese fishermen capitalise on to make their catch inside Bangladesh’s maritime area in the Bay of Bengal.

The existing 25 licence holders do not fish in the deep-sea, said Md Khurshed Alam, secretary to the foreign ministry’s Maritime Affairs Unit. Though it is possible to fish as far out as 660 kilometres from the shores, Bangladeshis go only up to 70km for a lack of required facilities, leading to underutilisation of immense potential, he said.

Addressing a luncheon meeting on challenges of realising the Blue Economy’s opportunities in Bangladesh, Alam said, of the 8 million tonnes of fish caught in the bay in 2016, only 93,000 tonnes were by Bangladeshis.

Other countries including India and Myanmar were able to reach the farthest parts to catch the remaining fish, he told the event organised by the Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI) at The Westin Dhaka.

“We cannot tap the potential of maritime resources as we do not have adequate trawlers and manpower in this sector,” said Alam.

He sought more private sector investment which could simultaneously create millions of jobs and earn billions in foreign currency.

The 118,000 square kilometers of area in the bay should be used for economic purposes, Alam added.

Bangladesh’s overseas trade (import and export) last year amounted to nearly $75 billion and over 90 percent of it was seaborne, for which $5 billion had to be paid in freight charges, he said. Bangladesh could have saved a lot of foreign currency, nearly 1 percent of the national GDP, had local ships carried the goods, he said.

He also recommended following in the footsteps of countries like Norway and Australia to adopt sea cage aquaculture to cultivate fish such as salmon.

Bangladesh is more interested in using river routes, he said, suggesting the use of more coastal shipping lines for easier and cheaper transportation of goods which could also have an impact on the prices of commodities.

Currently, all three ports in Chittagong, Mongla and Payra are connected to river routes while the country is yet to develop a much-needed deep-sea port, he said. Once the under-construction Matarbari port becomes operational, the crisis can be averted to some extent, he added.

Alam said he has been faced with a crisis of teachers at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University as Bangladesh has not developed adequate skilled manpower for this sector over the years.

The secretary said global maritime products and trade were worth $24 trillion and people could tap only $2.5 trillion to $3 trillion a year. “Bangladesh needs a sustainable blue economy authority and regulations on resource extraction to tap more maritime business potential,” said Syed Moazzem Hossain, president of the BMCCI, pointing out that the government has already invested $40 billion in developing the southern coastal areas.

Plastic industry shows promise as demand rises

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Plastic industry shows promise as demand rises

The plastic industry has been growing at about 20 percent a year on the back of spiralling demand from domestic and export markets.

In fiscal 2017-18, the domestic market size of plastic products hit Tk 25,000 crore, according to the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Export Association (BPGMEA). Plastic exports rose 31 percent year-on-year to $117 million last fiscal year, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau. “Bangladesh has huge potential to grow further,” said Kamruzzaman Kamal, director for marketing at Pran-RFL Group, which is the market leader in the organised plastic sector.

The average plastic consumption in Bangladesh is about 2 kg per person. In contrast, in India it is 6 kg and 40 kg in Gulf countries and 10 kg in Southeast Asia, he said.

Bangladesh currently manufactures 142 plastic items and the number is increasing by the day. The country mainly exports intermediate products like film plastic, household items and garment accessories to the US, Canada, the Europe, China, India and Nepal.

Bangladesh has only 0.6 percent share of the $546 billion global plastic market.

Bangladesh produces several types of extrusion material, molding, thermosetting conversion like manufacturing of PVC pipe, shopping bag, injection molding products, garment bag, woven bags, PET/PE bottle, laminated packages, making of profile, rigid sheet, garments accessories, household products, cosmetics, medicine packs etc.

The BPGMEA has set a target to occupy 3 percent of the global market by 2030 and the government is providing 10 percent cash incentive to the exporters.

As of now, total investment in the sector is around Tk 20,550 crore. The plastic sector is the 12th highest earning export sector in Bangladesh.

BPGMEA Vice President KM Iqbal Hossen said the plastic makers are also contributing to the growth of the garments sector by serving the sector’s backward linkage industry.

Most of the plastic makers are based in Dhaka and cater to the local demand as import substitutes. Gradual growth in the plastic industry was noticeable from 1980 to 1990, when a large number of injection grade and film grade plastic plants were set up, BPGMEA leaders said.

Since then the sector started playing a significant role in the national economy and moved faster than other sectors, it said.

After 1990, they have started setting up better grade and more sophisticated industries to produce export quality plastic goods, according to Hossen.

“Today we have several factories engaged in plastic goods export from Bangladesh. Most of the factories are enhancing their capacity to meet the overseas demand.”

According to the standards set by BPGMEA, the big units are those which have invested at least Tk 100 crore, the medium units have investment worth Tk 10 crore and the small units have invested at least Tk 50 lakh.

The plastic makers have created at least 12 lakh jobs in a total of 5,030 small, medium and big factories across the country.

Some 175,500 people are doing job in small units, 444,000 people in 1,480 medium units and 10,000 people in big units.

Besides, indirect employment is 200,000 and dependent manpower is 400,000 in the sector, Hossen said.

The number of people employed in the plastic goods sector is equivalent to one fourth of the people employed by the garment sector.

Job opportunities in the plastic sector are spiralling thanks to the rapid expansion of the market and production, he said. Bangladesh imports around 120,000 tonnes of plastic raw materials each year and it is continuously growing.

In the last fiscal year, Bangladesh imported 1.3 lakh tonnes of raw materials worth Tk 10,614 crore. In Bangladesh, there is no unit to produce poly-olefin and petrochemical, which are the main raw materials for producing plastic goods, Enamul Haque, managing director of Expo Accessories Ltd, a plastic goods maker.

“For this reason, we have to import raw materials from India, China, Formosa, Vietnam and Taiwan.”

Handset import rises 10pc despite duty hike

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Handset import rises 10pc despite duty hike

Handset imports rose 9.6 percent to 3.4 crore units last year despite a spike of 5 percentage points in import duty.

However, the number of smartphones brought in to the country did not increase as expected because of the import duty spike, said the Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers Association (BMPIA).

Given the advent of 4G services and greater use of digital services, the industry was expecting that more than one crore units of smartphones would be imported in 2017. But, 82 lakhs were brought in through the legal channel, which is 23.5 percent of the total imports. In 2016, smartphones accounted for about 26 percent of the total imports.

“Definitely over-taxation is holding the industry back from flourishing,” said Ruhul Alam Al Mahbub Manik, president of the BMPIA.

With the view to promoting local manufacturing, the government in June last year raised the import duty for handsets to 31 percent.

The move might have spurred more illegal handset imports, Manik said, while citing the number of Samsung devices and iPhones on sale in local markets to further his point.

About 40 percent of the Samsung devices on sale were not imported by BMPIA members, he said.

In 2017, mobile phone importers contributed about Tk 1,500 crore to the national exchequer by way of different kinds of taxes, according to the BMPIA, which has 70 members, 20 of whom are importers. “But, we must laud the government for changing its focus to local manufacturing,” said Manik, who owns Fair Distribution, an authorised importer of Samsung devices.

Two local brands — Walton and aamra — have already started local assembling of handsets; some other local and international players are keenly watching the developments.

The value of the imported devices — Tk 9,500 crore –also marked an 18.75 percent year-on-year increase.

Symphony became the top importer in terms of volume, which was about 30 percent of the total. In terms of value, it came in second; its imports accounted for 21 percent of the total.

South Korean mobile giant Samsung accounted for 26 percent of the import value in 2017 and 14 percent in terms of volume.

The third position in terms of value and volume belonged to Huawei: 13 percent and 9 percent respectively.

Chinese manufacturer Transsion Holdings, which launched its handset brand itel in Bangladesh in the second half of last year, accounted for 5 percent of the total import volume.

Handsets with price tags ranging from Tk 3,000 to Tk 6,000 were the best sellers last year, according to BMPIA.

Industry insiders hope to see a 30 percent rise in smartphone usage in 2018.

Bangladesh will get GSP facility till 2027: Tofail

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Bangladesh will get GSP facility till 2027: Tofail

Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed on Sunday said that despite graduation from least developed country to developing one, Bangladesh would get generalised system of preferences in the European Union till 2027 and latter on the country would be eligible for getting GSP plus.
Bangladesh would face the post-graduation challenges related to the trade and business successfully as the country achieved the position through facing various challenges, he said while speaking to reporters on Bangladesh’s graduation at his ministry office in Dhaka.
‘We will fully graduate from the LDCs in 2024, but those countries which provide us GSP facility will continue it till 2027, and then we will get GSP plus,’ Tofail said.
He said Bangladesh is getting duty-free market access in many countries and the government is trying to sign free trade agreement with those countries which do not provide duty-free market access to Bangladesh.
‘Bangalee is the nation of heroes and we know how to face challenges,’ he said.
‘United Nations has made the announcement of Bangladesh’s graduation as developing nation on the birthday of the Father of Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which is a pride for Bangladesh,’ he said.
‘The announcement of the UN proved that Bangladesh has become Sonar Bangla today,’ he said.

Govt approves 162MW power plant project

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Govt approves 162MW power plant project

Bangladesh and China are going to set up a 162-megawatt furnace oil-based power plant under private investment as per the former’s policy.

The cabinet committee on purchase approved the plant at a meeting yesterday with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair.

The government will buy electricity from the plant at Tk 8.2868 or 10.5350 dollar cents per kilowatt hour. It will be run under the built-own-operate basis for 15 years.

The consortium, comprising Changzhou HuTang Coal Power Co Ltd of China and Icon Enterprise Ltd and Chase Power Ltd of Bangladesh will set up the plant at Singair in Manikganj.

According to a Power Division proposal, the government will have to spend more than Tk 14,000 crore in 15 years for buying electricity from the consortium. The entity will purchase land, set up transmission lines and a sub-station with its own money, said the proposal. The cabinet committee also extended the tenure of two existing power purchase deals.

One extension, which is by six months to July, will allow the government to continue importing 250MW of electricity from PTC India Ltd under open market. The timeframe ended in January. The committee also approved a Bangladesh Power Development Board proposal to buy electricity at 0.0764 cents per unit. It was earlier 0.0774 cents per unit.

The committee extended by two years the tenure of another plant set up under the private sector power generation policy. The fresh tenure goes up to June 2019 and puts the price at Tk 15.4222 per unit.

NEPC Consortium Power Ltd set up the plant at Narayanganj’s Haripur in 1999 for 15 years. It was gas-based in the beginning and started running on furnace oil in 2010.

FBCCI teams up with Singaporean federation to boost trade

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Left, Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and Douglas Foo, president of Singapore Manufacturing Federation, sign a memorandum of understanding on business cooperation between the two trade bodies, in Singapore on Tuesday. Photo: PID

FBCCI teams up with Singaporean federation to boost trade

The country’s apex trade body has recently joined hands with the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) to promote the trade ties between the two countries.

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) will work with SMF and share information on trade and investment and organise conferences and exhibitions to boost business between the two countries.

Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, FBCCI president, and Douglas Foo, SMF president, signed a memorandum of understanding in this regard at a programme in Singapore on Tuesday, FBCCI said in a statement yesterday.

The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the Bangladesh-Singapore Business Forum-2018 during the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Singapore.

Sheikh Fazle Fahim, senior vice president of FBCCI, and Md Muntakim Ashraf, vice president, were also present at the signing ceremony

Duty benefit extended for fire safety tools import

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Duty benefit extended for fire safety tools import

National Board of Revenue has extended duty benefit along with relaxing conditions for export-oriented readymade garment industries in import of fire safety equipment.
Customs wing of the revenue board on March 11 issued a statutory regulatory order amending the previous SRO and relaxing restriction on the number of imports of the equipment.
According to the amended SRO, apparel makers will enjoy duty benefits as many times as required in import of each item.
Previously, investors could avail the benefit only for once in import of an item.
They needed to pay duty and taxes ranging from 31.07 per cent to 104.79 per cent in import of an item for the second time.
The NBR through the latest SRO, signed by NBR chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, also includes some new equipment including electric resistance welded pipe and fittings of iron and steel, and auto sprinkler system on the waiver list.
The revenue board in June 2017 waived all duties and value-added taxes, except five per cent customs duty, in import of fire safety materials and equipment for the sector following conditions of international buyers for upgrading factory safety.
Customs officials said that the latest decision was made in line with the applications of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association seeking withdrawal of the condition related to the number of imports and inclusion of new items on the list.
Field level customs offices also recommended allowing the benefit to entrepreneurs, they said.
Investors might need the same fire safety equipment for a second or third time if they would renovate or expand existing factory or establish new units, said a high official of the NBR.
Most of the export-oriented factories have been going through remediation activities as per standard set by international buyers and retails platforms — Accord and Alliance, he said. Many others are also conducting BMRE (balancing, modernisation, rehabilitation and expansion) activities to increase the productivity of their factories, he added. In this context, the NBR relaxed the condition being convinced about the rationality of the demand of the BGMEA and BKMEA, he said. Importers, however, will not be allowed to avail the benefit for items which are not included in the layout plan of fire fighting system, according to the SRO.
The other conditions set out in the original SRO will, however, remain in effect for obtaining the benefit. According to the original SRO, the importer must be registered with the VAT wing of the NBR. He or she must also submit to the customs authority certificates of international inspection body or registered engineering firms which prepared the layout plan, and trade association with which the importer has membership on the required items and the quantity of the items for getting the duty waiver.  The importer will also not be allowed to use the imported items for any other purpose, except fire fighting in his or her factory. He or she will also have to submit a certificate from the relevant customs or VAT office after installation of the equipment in the factory.

LNG import to hinder Ctg port activities

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A file photo shows a ship anchored at the Chittagong port. The government without any feasibility study is preparing contracts to purchase gas from two foreign companies who would import and regasify liquefied natural gas using the jetties of two fertiliser factories on the downstream of the Chittagong port that handles 90 per cent of the country’s maritime trade. — New Age photo

 

LNG import to hinder Ctg port activities

The government without any feasibility study is preparing contracts to purchase gas from two foreign companies who would import and regasify liquefied natural gas using the jetties of two fertiliser factories on the downstream of the Chittagong port that handles 90 per cent of the country’s maritime trade.
The state-run Rupantorito Prakritik Gas Company Ltd finalised the drafts of two contracts with Singapore-based Trafigura Pte Ltd and a joint-venture of Cyprus-based Gunvor Group Ltd and Belgium-based Exmar bypassing tenders, said officials.
Experts censured the government move without any feasibility study, saying that it could put at risk the two fertiliser factories and other establishments in the proximity, where naval base and airport are also located, as LNG is a risky commodity explosive in nature.
Chittagong Port Authority officials said that presence of LNG carriers and floating storage and regasification units would occupy 80-90 metres of the narrow navigable channel of the Karnaphuli River.
There would be hardly any space for vessels to pass through the channel during unloading of LNG as vessels are usually barred from entering some 150 metres from the edge of an LNG carrier, they said, adding that about 300 vessels, including 20 ocean-going ones, usually moved to and from the port a day.
Rupantorito Prakritik Gas Company Ltd managing director Md Quamruzzaman said that they would send the drafts soon to the ministry for the government approvals. Asked about feasibility study, he said that the LNG supplier companies would carry out required studies after signing the contracts.
The gas company later would seek approvals from authorities concerned, including the port authority and the Department of Environment, Quamruzzaman said.
The contracts would be awarded under the Speedy Supply of Power and Energy (Special Provisions) Act 2010 that indemnifies
officials concerned against prosecution for awarding contracts without tender, said energy division officials.
Energy expert M Tamim, also Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology petroleum engineering professor, said that the government should have conducted studies to assess the feasibility considering technical, commercial, environmental and safety issues.  Chemical engineering professor at the university Ijaz Hossain said that building LNG import  facilities in close proximity to Chittagong port, naval base and airport was  risky.
He said that such establishments were considered as red category for LNG’s explosive nature.
Chittagong Port Authority secretary Mohammad Omar Faruk said
that port authority’s expert team would examine whether there were any safety issues and potential impacts on the port activities.

LNG carriers require maintaining an off-limits area of 30 metres while moving and 150 metres during unloading, leaving only half of the navigable route for the vessels and ships to and from the port and naval base, said port officials.
According to the government plan, each of Trafigura and Gunvor-Exmar JV will supply 5.66 million cubic metres per day to the gas transmission system.
The companies would use ocean-going vessels with 30,000 cubic metre capacity to bring
the LNG to the jetties which would require at least one vessel occupying either of the jetties for 230 days in a year.