Narinjara News

January 7, 2005

Bangladesh's government decides on gas pipeline

Bangladesh's Minister for Energy and Minerals, AKM Mosharrof Hossain, will attend an international gas pipeline conference in Rangoon, Burma. 

Mr Hossain's duty will be to decide on whether a gas pipeline will be built through Bangladesh. 

The conference will run from the 12th to the 13th of January 2005.

According to a report, the meeting will be attended by the Indian Petroleum Minister, Burmese officials and Mr Hossain after Bangladesh accepted a formal invitation from Burma's military government.

Burma's military government has agreed to sell its gas to India, but the government has not yet decided on the route of the gas pipeline will export to India, a local source said.

The aim of the talks are to convince the Bangladesh government of the benefits of the pipeline.  The construction of the gas pipeline will commence at the end of the year once the Bangladesh government agrees to let the pipeline run through it's territory.

Bangladesh will make annual US $125 million revenue from the gas the pipeline transports.  US$ 100 million will come from a wheeling charge and US$ 25 million as maintenance charges.

In addition, Bangladesh will get the right of way revenue from the pipeline and

there will be an investment of US$ 150 million that will also create employment

opportunities for Bangladeshi workers.

The afore-mentioned facts are likely to convince the Bangladesh government to give its final approval for the gas pipeline to be constructed through its territory, the source said.

The pipeline will cross the Bangladesh border through Brahmanbaria from the Indian state of Tripura, and it will cross into west Bengal through the Rajshahi border.

In Burma, the gas pipeline will extend along the Kaladan River, which runs from the Arakan state's capital of Akyab to the Tripura state of India.

The minister will fly to Rangoon on January the 11th, along with other two top

businessmen including chairman of Petrobangla, a distinguished petroleum firm from Bangladesh. #

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