Bangladesh Garment Factories Struggle with CNG Shortages Amid Ongoing Gas Crisis

Garment factory owners in Bangladesh are urging the government to ensure uninterrupted access to compressed natural gas (CNG) from filling stations. CNG has become essential for factories struggling with severe pipeline gas shortages, according to BKMEA President Mohammad Hatem.

Hatem stated that factories were facing severe gas shortages and many had managed to continue operations by using CNG collected from nearby filling stations. In a meeting on Monday between leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Energy and Mineral Resources Division Secretary Mohammad Saiful Islam, Hatem said the secretary instructed the Managing Director of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd. to withdraw a circular restricting garment factories from procuring CNG from filling stations.

The exporters' appeal came after Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd. issued a letter to 21 CNG filling stations in the Tangail and Gazipur regions, directing them to halt supplying natural gas into unauthorized open cylinders and cascade cylinders transported by covered vans and trucks.