To implement the Integrated Power and Energy Master Plan, Bangladesh will need to invest around $50 billion in the proposed 41 LNG-based power projects and seven LNG import facilities by 2041, according to a study by Market Forces, a global environmental advocate based in Australia.

According to the report, the proposed LNG-based capacity of 37,400 megawatts (MW) is larger than the country’s entire existing electricity fleet of 27,086 MW. If the plan is implemented, the country’s energy capacity will increase threefold.

The report titled ‘Costly LNG Expansion: How Foreign Gas Interests Are Posing a Climate Disaster for Bangladesh’ was released yesterday at a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club. Three local organizations – Waterkeepers Bangladesh, Fossil Free Chattogram and Dhoritri Rokhhay Amra (Dhora) – co-authored the study.

The list of 41 energy projects has been prepared by Market Forces based on data available from internal and external sources up to 2023.

Speakers at the press conference said some interest groups had used inflated projections of electricity demand in different public policy documents during the Awami League rule to make more money in capacity charge .

The capacity charge is the bill the government pays to electricity producers for the time they remain idle.

According to the report, the estimated cost of the 41 power plants in Chattogram, Dhaka and Barisal will be $36 billion, and LNG import facilities such as floating storage and regasification units will cost $14 billion.

The Integrated Power and Energy Master Plan for 2024-2050 estimates that the country will need to increase its LNG import capacity to 30 million tonnes per year by 2041, four times the current capacity .

“By 2041, Bangladesh would face an additional burden and cost of importing LNG that would reach $7-11 billion per year, two to three times the cost of all fossil fuel imports today”, we can read in the study.

It mentions that the 21 proposed plants in Chattogram are expected to release 1.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) over their lifetime (15 to 25 years), which is six times more than the annual emissions current times of Bangladesh.

“These threaten at least 26 endangered species that rely on local forests, including the Asian elephant, the clouded leopard and the scaly anteater known as the Chinese pangolin. Human rights of women and local community members are causing increasing concern following violations in similar developments,” the report said.

“More than a million families depend on traditional livelihoods like tourism, fishing and dried fish, salt production, betel leaf cultivation and agriculture in Cox’s Bazar area of ​​Chattogram. These essential industries, linked to the lifeline and livelihood of the people of this region. , are threatened by highly polluting and carbon-intensive projects.

Professor Anu Muhammad, central leader of the National Committee for Protection of Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports, said that previous governments, including those of the Awami League, have always served the interests of certain global multilateral energy groups.

“Instead of emphasizing local gas exploration, they opted for high-cost LNG imports,” he said, adding that it is now clear how importing Fossil fuels and LNG represent a financial burden for the country and are associated with the destruction of natural gas. life and nature.

He demanded the cancellation of the master plan, prepared mainly by Japanese experts.

“We need to adopt a plan by local experts who will prepare it in favor of Bangladesh.”

Shafiqul Alam, senior analyst for Bangladesh energy at the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), said the government should focus on local gas exploration and project implementation of renewable energy.

“We are suffering an economic burden due to the importation of LNG and other fossil fuels. It is not possible to stop imports, but we must reduce our dependence and improve energy efficiency,” he said. -he declared.

The report was presented by Munira Chowdhury, Asia energy analyst at Market Forces.

Also speaking during the event.