Ctg to get 40m cft gas soon

CHITTAGONG, March 4: Chittagong businesses will be supplied with 40 million cubic feet of gas per day within a short time, which will partly make up the crisis of energy-hungry industries, mainly the readymade garment units, an official said. Karnafuli Gas Distribution Company managing director Engineer Sanwar Hossain Chowdhury said he expects to provide new connections of at least 40 million cft of gas per day in the Chittagong region within a short period. He was exchanging views on the current gas crisis in the city with representatives of readymade garment manufacturers and exporters at the BGMEA Bhaban in the city Thursday evening. "Despite limitations, the KGDCL will give priority on connections of new condensate natural gas (CNG) lines in the garment factories," the company's MD said. The BGMEA first vice president Nasir Uddin Chowdhury had earlier asked the KGDCL boss not to disconnect gas lines of the defaulting garment industries directly for failing to meet bills without consultation with the BGMEA leaders. He said that huge investment in the RMG sector has been stalled for gas crisis as scores of newly set-up garment factories are seeking gas connections for commercial production in their units. On the other hand, a good volume of new investment in the sector is in the pipeline. He urged the KGDCL chief to arrange gas connections to the new RMG industries, the largest foreign exchange earner of the country.