Download Link for Energy & Power Vol 20 Issue 2 As PDF  /userfiles/EP_20_02.pdf

Bangladesh as also other countries of the world on 25 June 2022 witnessed the grand opening of Padma Bridge, a mega project that connected the country’s south-southwestern region with the capital city, Dhaka. This is considered not just a mere infrastructure, but a corridor that opened a wide horizon for the economic development of the lagged-behind regions of the country. It is expected that the economic activities in the regions would increase substantially and the GDP growth to get an extra pace of 1.2% annually. However, there is a downside risk in achieving the full potential of the areas as a section of experts has expressed such an apprehension. They feared that the energy to be required for running the wheels of expected economic activities would not be available in time. They argued that though a few baseload power generation plants having substantial capacities are being developed in the regions, those would face setbacks mainly due to an inadequate, or an expensive, supply of primary energy.

The authorities concerned will have to think deeper into the problem and plan accordingly to tap the full economic potential of the regions offered by the dream bridge. The necessary fuels should be made available as required and that should be affordable particularly for the industries to be developed there as well as the people of the regions in general.