Consortium to invest $12m to make LPG cylinders

A consortium of 16 local and foreign companies yesterday announced a plan to invest about $12 million to manufacture LPG-carrying cylinders, bullet trucks and industrial tanks.

The consortium, called Star Infrastructure Development Consortium Ltd, signed a deal with Servigas Co of Iran for technical support. Three sites have primarily been shortlisted for the plant: Sonargaon in Narayanganj, Kishorganj and near Mongla seaport.

The final site selection depends on Servigas's technical report, said Abdul Matlub Ahmad, chairman of Nitol Niloy Group, a member of the consortium, at the deal signing ceremony held at the capital's Westin hotel.

Ahmad; Mohd Noor Ali, chairman of the consortium and the managing director of Unique Group; Sh Rabiee, MD of Servigas; and MH Mohajerani, sales and marketing manager of Servigas, signed the deal.

Production will start in the next one year, Ahmad said, adding that customers will get quality products at affordable prices.

Currently, there are 60 household gas distributing companies that can use cylinders, bullet trucks and industrial tanks.

“Their service quality will improve by using our products,” said Ahmad, also the president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Servigas is a subsidiary of Butane Group, the first liquefied petroleum gas distribution company in Iran. It now exports gas and other related equipment to Europe and some other countries in Asia

The consortium's initiative will play an important role in the government's efforts to diversify its power sources, said Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, the prime minister's energy adviser.

The domestic gas supply is declining but the demand is increasing by the day.

“Since 2009, we have found some very small gas fields and we can increase our production by 30 percent. But the demand more than doubled in the last six years.”

The government is also trying to import liquefied natural gas, but it will take some more time, he said.

“In the meantime, LPG can meet up some of the gas demand.”

Abbas Vaezi Dehnavi, Iran's ambassador to Dhaka; AR Khan, chairman of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commi-ssion; and Shafiul Islam, FBCCI's first vice-president, also spoke.