Bangladesh mulls zone-wise weekly closure of factories to save power

Around 490-500 MW of power is expected to be saved daily with this measure, Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, told business leaders recently.

It will be possible to provide uninterrupted power supply across the country from October by importing more gas and increasing power generation, he said.

Many factory owners and investors, however, fear they will still face production loss as businesses are already overwhelmed after the gas and oil price hike followed by power and gas supply shortage.

"The garment industry is reeling under two-pronged pressures. On the one hand from gas and power shortages and on the other hand, declining consumer demand due to inflationary pressures in key export destinations of the garment industry," Bangladesh Garment manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) acting president Shahidullah Azim was quoted as saying by Bangla media reports.

"Now with the increase in the price of fuel, the system of generating electricity with its own generator has also become expensive. Therefore, it is now challenging for the industry to ship exports on time," he added.

He urged the government to keep captive power plants out of the scope of fuel price hike to relieve the garment industry from additional pressure.

Some factory owners, including those from tanneries, jute units, leather factory and apparel units, however, said that there will be no impact of the area wise once a week factory closure for them.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)