Ceramic makers decry gas diversion to power plants

Production in ceramic factories in Dhaka's adjacent areas has been badly hampered for an acute gas crisis over the past couple of weeks as the supply of gas has been diverted to power plants.

Production in some cases has decreased by two thirds due to the inadequate pressure of gas, a prerequisite for running the factories, said ceramic producers.

Leaders of the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BCMEA) sent a letter to the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited, the gas supplying company, on August 14 seeking remedy.

Titas has reduced gas pressure to industries to supply gas to power plants as a backup since the recent discovery that coal, which is used in producing power, had been stolen from the Barapukuria coal mine.

In the letter addressed to the Titas managing director, the BCMEA said the ceramic factories in areas like Savar, Dhamrai, Gazipur, Shreepur, Kashimpur, Tongi, Joydebpur and Mirzapur in Tangail have been suffering for an inadequate supply of gas.

The gas pressure goes down to 2-3 pounds per square inch (PSI) and even reaches zero although Titas assured providing the factories 15 PSI, which is sufficient to continue production, the BCMEA said in the letter.

The affected factories have altogether been losing Tk 2 crore every day for the production being affected, the letter mentioned. The BCMEA mentioned the names of nine factories which have been facing the gas crisis.

The factories are Peoples Ceramic Industries Ltd, Dacca Ceramic & Sanitarywares, Monno Ceramic Industries, Shinepukur Ceramics, Protik Ceramics, Standard Ceramic Industries, Fu-wang Ceramic Industry, Sun Power Ceramics and ATI Ceramics.

“The production in my factory dropped to almost one third due to inadequate gas pressure,” said Moynul Islam, vice-chairman of Dhamrai-based Monno Ceramic Industries Ltd.

“Previously, I used to produce 75,000 pieces of ceramic plates, dinner sets, and mugs but now I can produce 30,000 in a day,” he said.

“My problem is even more acute. The low gas pressure has been plaguing my factories since 2008,” Islam told The Daily Star over the phone.

“Still, we are running our factory reducing cost of production in other areas.”

The gas crisis in other factories is new, said Islam, who is also a senior vice-president of the BCMEA.

Islam said if the LNG supply starts in full swing, the gas crisis will ease by a large extent. He said he has been thinking of running his factory with LPG for overcoming the gas crisis. Mir Moshiur Rahman, managing director of Titas, said some factories have been facing a gas crisis mainly due to the diversion of gas to power plants in Sirajganj and other northern districts due to a crisis of coal.

“Primarily, we have an overall gas crisis. Secondly, the gas was diverted to power plants for electricity production as some coal was stolen a few days ago,” he said.

However, the situation has been improving every week and the gas pressure is also increasing in industrial zones gradually, the managing director said.

The ceramic sector has been showing potential in exports over the years as demand has been growing worldwide.

Bangladesh exported ceramic products worth $51.94 million last fiscal year, up 32.70 percent from the previous fiscal year, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau.