Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (IDCOL), a state-run non-bank financial institution, will observe the Biogas Week 2010 starting here today.
On the first day, Majpara union in Atgharia upazila, Pabna will be declared a 'biogas union'.
IDCOL also plans to set up 12,000 biogas plants in the country, IDCOL officials told the news agency.
Fisheries and Livestock Minister Abdul Latif Biswas will inaugurate the Biogas Week. Shamsur Rahman Sharif (Dilu) MP will be the special guest.
IDCOL Chief Executive Officer Islam Sharif will deliver the welcome speech, while its Chairman and Secretary of the Economic Relations Division Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan will preside over the function.
Only 3 percent of the population living in cities are now getting the natural gas through pipelines for household cooking.
People in remote areas use dry wood, cow dung and other wastes for cooking, endangering forest resources and the environment.
Under these circumstances, according to experts, there is no alternative to setting up large-scale biogas plants as a source of energy.
IDCOL has so far installed some 4.54 lakh solar home systems (SHSs) along with 31,909 small SHSs, and plans to install 6.5 lakh more by yearend.
IDCOL has already invested Tk 800 crore: Tk 600 crore in loans and Tk 200 crore in grants. It has Tk 1,000 crore ready for investment in coming days, IDCOL officials said.