The New Nation - Internet Edition

A.T.M.Nurun Nabi

The country's proven gas reserves of 8.39 TCF are likely to be exhausted by 2011 and the probable reserves of 13.6 TCF by the end of the year 2015, indicating the possible shutdown of 90 percent gas-run-power plants, demonstrating the looming of serious energy crisis if its substitute, coal, as energy is not extracted from the mines or new gas fields are not discovered.

According to 'Power Sector Master Plan Update 2006' prepared by Nexant, in order to reach GDP to eight percent, 450 million tonnes of coal will be required for 'coal based plants' between 2005 and 2025. The country will be requiring 75 million tonnes of coal in 2025 alone to produce 32,837 megawat of electricity out of total 41,899 mw. . On this ratio, 375 (75X5) million tonnes of coal will be required for next five years from 2026 [and 750 (75XlO) million tonnes for next 10 years from 2026 totalling 1200 (450+750) million tonnes (2005-2035)].

At present, there are proven reserves of 2,221 million tonnes of coal in the country's five coalmines (all in North Bengal). The full particulars are furnished below: -

(In million tonnes)

Locationlfield- Year of Discovery-Drilled Well-Depth-Proven Reserves- Probables

l.Barapukuria 1985-87 31 118-509 meters 303 390

Dinajpur

2.Khalashpur 1989-90 14 257-483 143 685

Rangpur

3.Phulbari 1997 108 150-240 572 572

Dinajpur

4.Dighipara 1994-95 5 328-407 150 600

Dinajpur

5.Jamalganj 1962 10 640-1158 1053 1053

Jpypurhat

Total 2221 3300

(Sources: BCML, AEC, GSB)

As to the extraction of coal, there are two methods. One is the 'open pit method' and the other is 'underground mining method'. The cost of extraction under the former method is 60 dollars per tonne and that under the later is 103 dollars. Under the open pit method, 90 percent extraction is possible while under the underground mining method, 20 percent could be extracted.

The severe drawbacks under the open pit method are that thousands of people living in and outside the mine(s) will be homeless and the environment in and around the locality will be seriously affected. So, to avert agitation and turmoil by the probable displaced inhabitants, prior-rehabilitation of them must be done before the coal company (ies) begins work in the coalmine area(s). If the government does not do that, creation of more Phulbari cannot be ruled out

If the open pit method is applied, about 1050 million tonnes of coal could be extracted from four mines (except Jamalganj) while 235 million under underground mining method, enough to produce electricity till 2022. In truth, the dependence on the coal based power plants and the industries will be in danger if the proven gas reserves are exhausted by 2015 and if no new gas field is discovered. Since 1,200 million tonnes of coal will be required for power plants only, the question of export does not at all arise. Not only that, the government can't give any kind of guarantee of supplying gas to any foreign company desiring to invest (regardless of amount) in Bangladesh.

The country will need 13,408 mw of electricity in 2015, 24,405 in 2020 and 41,899 in 2025 if the GDP reaches 8 percent On the other hand, there will be necessity of 9,786 mw in 2015, 13,993 in 2020 and 19,312 in 2025 in case of GDP entering 5.2 percent, claims Nexant It is therefore imperative on the part of the interim government to draft a clear coal policy right now in order to avert crises and to free the country from the curse of load shedding by 2012.

BSS, Dhaka

The retail price of vegetables at the city markets reduced further as supply of the items continued to increase, a market report of Bangladesh Riffle (BDR) said here today. Besides, the retail price of the most of essentials including the food items remained almost stable. The BDR report said, the price of coarse rice in different markets, including Kamalapur, New Market, Karwanbazar, Kalyanpur, Kachukhet and Mohammadpur, ranged between Taka 22 and Taka 23 per kg yesterday.

Rice was sold at Taka 23 at BDR-run open markets and Taka 19 at BDR-run sales centers yesterday while in Kolkata per kg coarse rice is being sold at a price equivalent to Bangladesh Taka 21.42.

The price of one-kg packet of flour was between Taka 31 and Taka 33 in ordinary markets yesterday while the price of the item was Taka 30 in BDR-run open markets and Taka 29 at BDR-run sales centres. In Kolkata, the flour is being sold for Taka 26.31 per kg, the report said.

The price of imported lentil (mashur) is between Taka 60 and Taka 62 per kg in ordinary markets, while it is being sold at Taka 63 in BDR-run open markets and Taka 58 at BDR-run sales centres. In Kolkata, the price of the lentil is Taka 62.50 per kg. Onion (imported) was sold at Taka 40 to Taka 44 per kg in ordinary city markets while its price in Kolkata was Taka 31.57. Onion at Taka 32 per kg in BDR-run open markets and Taka 28 at BDR-run sales centres.

The price of imported gram (Chhola) was between Taka 52 and Taka 64 per kg in different retail markets yesterday while in Kolkata, the item is being sold at Taka 54.38 The item is being sold at Taka 58 in BDR-run open markets and Taka 52 at BDR-run sales centres.

Sugar is being sold at Taka 28 per kg in ordinary markets compared to Taka 28.07 in Kolkata and Taka 28 in BDR-run open markets.

The price of green chilli, however, is ranging from Taka 80 to Taka 90 per kg in ordinary city markets. The item is sold at Taka 70 at BDR-run open markets. The price of green chilli in Kolkata is equivalent to Taka 52.63. The potato is being sold at Taka 19 to Taka 20 per kg in all the ordinary markets. The price of potato in BDR-run open market is Taka 19 and at BDR sales centers Taka 18. In Kolkata, the price of the item is equivalent to Taka 15.78 Soybean oil is being sold at Taka 78 to Taka 80 per litre in ordinary markets, while it is available at Taka 80 in BDR-run open markets and Taka 73 at BDR-run sales centres. In Kolkata, the price of soybean oil is Taka 105.26 per litre.

Palm oil is being sold at Taka 73 to 76 per liter in ordinary markets. In Kolkata, the price of palm oil is Taka 99.99 per litre.

The item is being sold at Taka 73 per kg in BDR-run open Market and BDR-run sales centres, the report added.

Grameenphone Ltd. has signed an agreement with Sun Pharmaceutical (Bangladesh) Ltd. to provide complete communication facilities under its Business Solutions package.

GP Business Solutions is an integrated telecommunications service specially designed for the business entities of Bangladesh, providing customised telecommunications solutions through a consultative approach, tailored to the needs of individual businesses or organisation.

Sun Pharmaceutical (Bangladesh) Ltd. is a joint venture company, manufacturing specialty drugs for heart, nerve, digestive system and mental disorders. Its parent company, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. is a research based organisation which markets its products in 26 countries including USA, Brazil, Mexico, China, Russia and India. Sun's products are acclaimed all over the world for very high quality standards.

GP Business Solutions, comprising of modern mobile telecommunications services for any business, needs, provides voice, text messaging and mobile data and internet services. Also an offer is a complete Mobile-Office solution, including mobile email, mobile high-speed data access, internet access, mobile fax and more, providing the freedom to work from anywhere within Grameenphone's wide network coverage.

According to the agreement, Sun Pharmaceutical (Bangladesh) Ltd. is being provided complete communications solutions tailored to its needs, including voice, data and other services. Sun Pharmaceutical (Bangladesh) Ltd. will use the services to further improve communication amongst its different branches, at an affordable cost

The agreement was signed by Prashant Savla, Manager - Finance & Operations of Sun Pharmaceutical (Bangladesh) Ltd. and Rahat Khan, Manager, Direct Sales of Grameenphone, on behalf of their respective organisations.

Mr Prasanta Das, Business Manager, Md. Mahbub-a-Khoda Chowdhury, HR & Administration Manager, Mr Sarwar Jan, Distribution Manager of Sun Pharmaceutical (Bangladesh) Ltd., and Mr. Mahboob Hossain, Head of Direct Sales, Sa ad M Faizul Karim, Deputy Manager, Direct sales, Iffat Zarin, Officer, Direct Sales of Grameenphone, were also present at the signing ceremony.

The 96th branch of National Bank Limited has been inaugurated recently at Kadamtali, Sylhet Parveen Haque Sikder chairperson of the bank formally inaugurated the branch. A discussion meeting was held on the occasion.

The Cchairperson in her inaugural speech said that NBL would put remarkable contribution in the business development of Kadamtoli, Sylhet, the holy land Hazrat Shahjalal (R) and Harzat Shaparan (R).

Md Abdur Rahman Sarker, Managing Director (Current Charge) of the Bank mentioned in his speech, the banking network of NBL in greater Sylhet has further been increased. Our Kadamtoli branch will fulfill cherished desire of the people of the locality for modern banking facility he also said.

Among others, A K M Shafiqur Rahman, Executive Vice President and Company Secretary and Ziaus Shams Chowdhury, Senior Vice President and Regional Head of Sylhet were also present and spoke on the occasion and Morshed Kamal, Manager of Kadamtoli Branch of the Bank delivered his vote of thanks.

Besides, Maruf Ahmed, Businessman, Md Sha Alam, Director of Sylhet Chamber, Tawfique Bakth Rippon, M A Mannan and Abdullah Al-Mahmud of the invited guests also atended and spoke on the occasion. The elites and businessmen in the area were present in the opening ceremony.

An 8-day long training course on "International Trade & Foreign Exchange" organised by Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited for the Desk level officers of Import and Export section of branches ended on September 30. The Managing Director of Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited. Md. Yeasin Ali was present on the occasion as the chief guest and gave away certificates among the participants.

Mr. Ali exhorted the participants to put their acquired knowledge and experience into practice with sincerity and devotion. Advancement of technology is constantly adding new dimensions to banking and thus making it more and more competitive, he added. He also underscored the need of training to develop professionalism to achieve the desired goal of the organisation, adding that training has no substitute to enhance skills and knowledge.

Among others, Deputy Managing Director (Operation) Ghulam Kabir, Executive Vice President and Head of Training Wing Tasnim Uddin Ahmed and Senior Vice President and Head of Human Resources Division Md. Shams-Uddin Ahmed also spoke on the function.

The company at its annual general meeting held on September 28, 2007 reported a continuously satisfactory and improved performance. During the year under reference, the company earned a net profit after tax of US $ 79.8 million reflecting high fertilizer prices in the global market and an excellent performance of company plants comparable to the best in the region.

For the government, this has resulted a revenue of over US $ 60 million in terms of gas sales, Corporate Income Tax of US $ 22.8 million and the much needed 371,000 tons urea. The government being the major shareholder received dividend of almost US $ 32 million during the fiscal year ended July 31, 2007.

The company during the reporting year paid on the average gas price of US $ 2.85 per MSCF and supplied almost 55 percent of its urea production to BCIC to help meet local demand and save the country substantial costs compared to importing.

The company is paying atention to its corporate citizenship by giving financial support for social issues. The company actively works on appropriate ways to contribute to the local community through donations to health, education, environment preservation and other deserving causes.