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Proposal on gas supply to India awaits Khaleda nod

By Haroon Habib

DHAKA July 19. An alternative proposal on gas supply to India from Myanmar through Bangladesh is likely to receive a positive response from Dhaka. The proposal, reportedly accepted by Bangladesh's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources on Wednesday, is awaiting the final approval of the Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, a leading daily, The Independent, has reported.

It said the Ministry had accepted the proposal ``in principle'' for construction of the Taka 900-crore pipeline. The $ 1 billion proposal was submitted recently to the Ministry by a company, Mohona Holding Limited. The Ministry has formed a committee to review the plan within a time-frame.

The project is quite different from the one the international oil company, UNICAL, had earlier proposed _ a pipeline from Sylhet's Bibiana gas field to Delhi via Bangladesh's northern Rajshahi. The proposed pipeline will cross the Bangladesh border through Brahmanbaria from Tripura and enter West Bengal through Bangladesh's Rajshahi. If the proposal gets the approval, it may help export gas to India without interference by any IOC. ``It is not a bad proposal. We accepted it on principle, and we shall take it up with the Prime Minister,'' the State Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources, A.K.M. Musharraf Hossain, was quoted as saying.

He said, ``Bangladesh can earn Taka 1,000 crores a year through this project, and I think there is no harm in constructing such a pipeline.'' ``It is not at all a political issue.'' It is learnt that before giving final assent Dhaka would lay some conditions, which may include the pipeline having 30 to 40 inches diameter and the country's petroleum authority be made one of the parties in the consortium. And Bangladesh will be the operator of the pipeline.

It is learnt that the U.S., Australia and some Indian companies have offered funds for its construction. The Government is now reportedly awaiting the final recommendations of the two national committees to assess the actual gas deposit and to determine its best utilisation _ to take a final decision. But the committee on utilisation saw little scope for gas export unless new reserves were found. ``No matter what decision is taken on the export of gas, Bangladesh will face moderate to severe energy crisis in another 25-30 years,'' said the draft report.

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