Amid heightened demand for dollars due to increased oil and gas imports to meet Bangladesh’s energy requirements, the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources has urgently requested an additional $1 billion (around Tk11,000 crore) from the Ministry of Finance to repay foreign debts in the energy and power sector. Additionally, a proposal was made to issue bonds worth Tk9,000 crore to enable private power plants to repay their bank loans.
The outstanding debt to foreign suppliers of oil and gas has surged to over $1.3 billion as of March 2024. This includes $700 million owed to the Adani Group of India, $280 million to fuel oil suppliers, and $320 million to gas and LNG suppliers.
To address the issue, the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources has sought an additional $1 billion for debt repayment and proposed issuing bonds to repay private power plant loans. The Finance Minister has assured of considering these proposals.