CNG filling stations fight for survival
Friday, 23 April 2010
Munima Sultana
The Tk 30-billion-sector involving CNG filling and conversion has been facing threats to existence owing to huge incurring losses amid unabated load shedding and gas crises.
Official statistics say four CNG stations have already been declared laid off while 50 others have become sick due to the crisis.
Owners and operators of CNG filling stations said the crisis has gripped the sector in recent days as they are not getting gas with minimum pressure to fill up the cylinders of thousands of the converted vehicles.
"After keeping the cars standing for hours on long queues, we cannot supply gas to the vehicles due to lower-than- expected gas pressure," said an official of Rajarbagh CNG Service Station.
He said with low pressure, they cannot meet their daily sales target.
An official of Anudip filling station in the city's Moghbazar area said, during the last few months the daily sale of Tk 50,000 has dropped drastically as its 12 nozzles remain idle for an average eight hours out of its round the clock service.
"We have to buy gas at the government rate and sell it to consumers also at fixed rate. So how could the CNG filling stations do business in this situation when our cost has also increased," said Zakir Hossain Nayan, secretary general of Bangladesh CNG Filling Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association.
He said for this provision, many owners cannot take the risk to invest further to buy diesel-operated generators, which cost around Tk 7.0 to 8.0 million.
The government fixed the feed gas price at Tk 9.97 million cubic (m/3) and selling price at Tk 16.75 m/3 for the CNG stations on April 25, 2008.
Mr Nayan said the CNG filling station consumes only five per cent of the gas supplied to total eight sectors, but it has to face a hike 400 times the price of feed gas.
Association statistics showed that the government hiked the feed gas price from Tk 2.47 m/3 to Tk 9.97m/3 for the CNG station sector and doubled the selling price at 16.75 m/3 from Tk 8.50 m/3.
The secretary general claimed that price hike of per 1000 CFT in the case of seven sectors varies from 3 to 8 per cent.
The CNG filling stations consumes 105 million cubic feet gas from the extracted 2000 million cubic feet.
The Tk 30-billion-sector involving CNG filling and conversion has been facing threats to existence owing to huge incurring losses amid unabated load shedding and gas crises.
Official statistics say four CNG stations have already been declared laid off while 50 others have become sick due to the crisis.
Owners and operators of CNG filling stations said the crisis has gripped the sector in recent days as they are not getting gas with minimum pressure to fill up the cylinders of thousands of the converted vehicles.
"After keeping the cars standing for hours on long queues, we cannot supply gas to the vehicles due to lower-than- expected gas pressure," said an official of Rajarbagh CNG Service Station.
He said with low pressure, they cannot meet their daily sales target.
An official of Anudip filling station in the city's Moghbazar area said, during the last few months the daily sale of Tk 50,000 has dropped drastically as its 12 nozzles remain idle for an average eight hours out of its round the clock service.
"We have to buy gas at the government rate and sell it to consumers also at fixed rate. So how could the CNG filling stations do business in this situation when our cost has also increased," said Zakir Hossain Nayan, secretary general of Bangladesh CNG Filling Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association.
He said for this provision, many owners cannot take the risk to invest further to buy diesel-operated generators, which cost around Tk 7.0 to 8.0 million.
The government fixed the feed gas price at Tk 9.97 million cubic (m/3) and selling price at Tk 16.75 m/3 for the CNG stations on April 25, 2008.
Mr Nayan said the CNG filling station consumes only five per cent of the gas supplied to total eight sectors, but it has to face a hike 400 times the price of feed gas.
Association statistics showed that the government hiked the feed gas price from Tk 2.47 m/3 to Tk 9.97m/3 for the CNG station sector and doubled the selling price at 16.75 m/3 from Tk 8.50 m/3.
The secretary general claimed that price hike of per 1000 CFT in the case of seven sectors varies from 3 to 8 per cent.
The CNG filling stations consumes 105 million cubic feet gas from the extracted 2000 million cubic feet.