Speakers at the webinar suggested year-on-year adjustment of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices for sustainable development of this sector.
To keep the prices of LPG affordable at the consumer level, the government should also provide subsidies to the power sector and other relevant sectors, they said at the event organised by G-Gas, a product by Energypac, in the capital on Wednesday.
Naweed Rashid, director of Energypac and Zakaria Jalal, head of Planning and Strategy of Bashundhara Group, expressed their views as speakers at the webinar moderated by business and energy expert Abu Sayed Raja, according to a media release.
Naweed Rashid said, “To keep the prices of LPG affordable at the consumer level, the government should provide subsidies to the power sector and other relevant sectors. Moreover, year-on-year adjustment of LPG prices could be another solution; otherwise, a sudden 20-30 per cent hike in the price will have a negative impact on the customers.”
The global business demographics have changed significantly in the last three years as the global supply chain was disrupted due to Covid-19, then the Ukraine-Russia conflict created a worldwide dollar crisis and recession, he said, adding that investors in the LPG sector need policy support from stakeholders.
“In the case of power plants, the bank allows a payback period (investment return) of 8-9 years, but in the LPG sector, this period is only 5-6 years. Our national economy is heavily dependent on the LPG sector. Therefore, the payback period (time period for investment return) in this sensitive sector should be at least 10 years”, Naweed opined.
LPG has gained wide popularity as an environment-friendly alternative in Bangladesh as well as around the world. In addition to the government, the role of the private sector is also significant in the development of this sector, speakers said hoping that this sector will develop further and contribute to the national economy.
