Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson Mahdi Amin today said gas supply in the country had increased significantly following Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s directive and expressed hope that the positive trend would continue in the coming days.
He also highlighted a wide range of measures taken by the government during its seven months in office, covering energy security, economic recovery, public welfare, education, health, infrastructure, digital services, employment, governance and foreign relations.
He made the remarks at a press briefing at the Prime Minister’s Office marking seven months of the government in office.
Mahdi Amin said, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman recently promised at meetings with businessmen and the media that the gas crisis would be resolved and the situation will be restored to normal as quickly as possible.
“And implementation of the PM’s commitment started from yesterday within a very short time and the government has taken initiative to make the industries operational again and take forward the economy,” he said.
On the economy, he said, Bangladesh’s sovereign outlook had recently been revised to stable from negative by Moody’s, while the country’s B2 sovereign rating remained unchanged.
“This means Bangladesh is now a stable country for investment. We believe this will not only help increase foreign investment in Bangladesh and enhance the country’s international standing, but also create a positive momentum in trade, investment and employment, particularly in creating the jobs needed to empower women and youth,” he said.
Highlighting the government’s achievements over the last seven-month in office, Mahdi Amin said, the actions implemented and initiatives taken under the Prime Minister’s strong leadership demonstrate that the present government is committed to ensuring genuine public welfare through specific action plans and accountability.
“From successfully addressing the pressure of foreign debt to carrying out various essential administrative reforms, ensuring corruption-free public services, bringing about major improvements in the education and health sectors, and strengthening Bangladesh’s position in the diplomatic arena, every step reflects the government’s patriotism and commitment to public welfare,” he said.
Mahdi added, the achievements will further advance Bangladesh’s firm journey towards becoming a dignified, self-reliant and merit-based democratic state.
The PMO spokesperson said, “We are rebuilding Bangladesh anew from the ruins of 16 years of fascist rule. It may be difficult to solve all problems completely within just seven months. However, the utmost sincerity and goodwill of the present elected and accountable government, whose sole source of power is the people, are visible in every step.”
Mahdi said inflation was moving in a positive direction compared to corresponding period of last year, according to data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
“Relatively, inflation rate has come down. Food prices have also declined. At the same time, the supply of essential food items is comparatively better than previous years,” he said.
On fuel prices, Mahdi said, compared to other countries around the world, particularly neighbouring countries, the price of diesel in Bangladesh is relatively low as the government is providing the highest possible subsidy on fuel to reduce people’s burden.”
The government has given importance to the following areas- youth empowerment; education, information technology and innovation; overall public welfare and improvement of living standards; women’s advancement, universal welfare and social protection; environment-friendly energy and climate-resilient industrialisation; modern health infrastructure and public health; transport infrastructure and traffic management; and institutional good governance, public diplomacy and foreign relations.
The spokesperson said the government has taken a number of measures over the past seven months to improve the welfare and living standards of people from different sections of society.
“Among them, one of the major measures is the approval of the National Pay Scale, with a minimum basic salary of Tk 20,000 and a maximum of Tk156,000 to provide financial relief to government employees,” he said.
In the energy sector, Mahdi said the government is working to increase domestic gas production by drilling 150 new gas wells in the medium term, followed by another 150 wells later. It is also planning additional LNG import capacity, including a third floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), with the aim to bring it into operation before 2028.
“To address the energy crisis, approval has been given in principle to import 18 LNG cargoes through direct procurement from global companies. To enhance energy security and capacity in the long run, international financing of US$1 billion has been secured for the expansion of the Eastern Refinery in Chattogram, and the work has begun,” he said.
On administrative reforms, Mahdi Amin said the government had withdrawn the requirement for prior Finance Division approval for recruitment and renewal of outsourcing manpower and stopped long-term postings at the same workplace to improve transparency in land administration.
He said a law had been passed to ensure parents’ lifelong use and possession of property and social security even after they donate it. The government also planned special national cash awards of Tk one lakh each for 100 meritorious teachers on World Teachers’ Day.
A proposal had been taken to rehabilitate residents of Dhaka’s Korail, Bhashantek and Tola slums with Chinese financing of Tk 10,000 crore through free flats in modern 20-storey buildings. Bangladeshi garment and textile firms had also successfully participated in the Ready to Show sourcing fair in Milan.
The government is establishing modern meat-processing centres in every district, while a locally developed lumpy skin disease vaccine has been successfully applied. The process of appointing four government veterinarians in each union and one in each upazila has begun.
Initiatives has also been taken to modernise Dhaka’s Central Children’s Park with 15 modern rides and open it by next June. Steps had also been taken to make NID and passport services more user-friendly for expatriates in 41 countries.
On women’s advancement, Mahdi said a joint institutional framework with an international cyber-security network had been initiated to prevent online harassment and violence against women. Plans had also been taken for universal stipends for female students at primary and secondary levels and permanent nutritious school meals.
Modern loan support would be provided to 20,000 tea workers in Sylhet, Moulvibazar and Habiganj to protect women workers’ health and safety, he said.
On power and environment-friendly energy, Mahdi said 1,046.73MW of electricity suspended due to technical faults had been restored to the national grid. A 500MW power plant and a large fertiliser factory would be established in Bhola.
He said 200MW of solar power would be added to the national grid, while a five-year plan had been taken to convert all diesel-powered irrigation pumps to solar energy. Solar systems would also be installed at 300 electricity-deprived primary schools in Rangamati.
New rooftop solar incentives had been announced, while surplus electricity would be purchased at Tk10.50 per unit. All duties and taxes on modern equipment imported for solar power plants would be waived for 180 days.
The government was also promoting brick production using river-dredged silt instead of agricultural soil and has formed a technical committee on vetiver grass for erosion control and embankment protection.
Steps has been taken to modernise the central treatment plant at Savar leather industrial city and formulate a public-private partnership policy for unprofitable state-owned industries and unused land. Foreign investors have shown interest in reviving long-closed state sugar mills.
Mahdi said total fertiliser availability had reached 5.155 million metric tons, leaving 1.568 million metric tons above projected demand until next February.
A central control room is being established to monitor supplies of fertilizer. A seven-percent incentive had been proposed for investors to revive inactive establishments, while Chattogram Urea Fertilizer Limited had resumed production after a six-month closure.
