Industrial factories in the country, including Ashuganj and Narayanganj, are closing one by one due to severe gas shortage

Special Correspondent

The ongoing severe gas crisis across the country has led to the virtual closure of hundreds of industrial plants, CNG stations and commercial establishments, and residents in many areas of the capital are facing extreme hardship due to the lack of cooking gas. It has also hurt industrial production, power generation and transportation sectors.

The main reason for the crisis is that the country was supplying about 2.65 billion cubic feet of gas daily, of which about 1.1 billion cubic feet came from imported LNG. The closure of one of the two floating LNG terminals in Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar has reduced the supply to less than 500 million cubic feet, resulting in a gas crisis in all sectors of the country for the past week. According to relevant sources, it is not yet certain when the closed terminal will be operational.

Ashuganj Fertilizer Factory: Closed for almost a year

The urea production of Ashuganj Fertilizer and Chemical Company Limited in Brahmanbaria has been closed for almost a year due to gas shortage, although the company is one of the largest industrial plants in the eastern part of the country. As a result, the state is being deprived of fertilizer production worth about 5.5 crore taka every day, which is equivalent to a financial loss of about 165 crore taka per month. It is reported that the salaries and allowances of the officials and employees are still being paid even though the factory is closed.

Narayanganj: Ban on cylinder gas also, 150 dyeing factories out of action

The situation in Narayanganj is even more delicate. The dyeing factories in this district, which have been suffering from a gas crisis for a long time, had been collecting gas in cylinders from CNG stations to somehow keep production going. But with the new directive of the Titas Gas Authority closing that route, entrepreneurs have claimed that production in more than 150 dyeing factories in the district has practically come to a standstill. In addition, companies dependent on gas are trying to maintain partial production at an additional cost by using diesel and generators.

2,500 factories damaged across the country

Not just Ashuganj or Narayanganj—according to Titas Gas Distribution Company, hundreds of factories in various industrial areas including Savar, Ashulia, Gazipur, and Tangail have been affected by the lack of gas. A recent report has revealed that about 2,500 factories across the country have been affected by the gas crisis. At the same time, long queues of vehicles are also seen at CNG filling stations due to the reduced supply to the national grid, and it is reported that there have been protests blocking the airport road in protest of the fuel crisis.

Industrialists fear that if the crisis continues, export-oriented sectors—especially dyeing, textiles, and fertilizer production—will face even greater losses, which could impact employment and export earnings. The reports mentioned that a specific timeframe for when the closed LNG terminal will reopen has not yet been announced.