THE Bangladesh Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has accepted, in principle, a proposal for the construction of a Myanmar-Tripura-West Bengal gas pipeline through Bangladesh, the estimated cost of which will be around $1billion (see also the PipeWire.net story on 6 November 02).
A Bangladeshi company, Mohona Holding Ltd, has recently submitted the project to the Energy Ministry, and the ministry forwarded the proposal last month to the Prime Minister’s Office seeking its approval. If the Bangladesh government gives approval to the project, a consortium will need to be set up to implement it within Bangladesh territory. In any such consortium Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation Ltd, a subsidiary of Petrobangla, will be a major player. The Myanmar government, and the state governments of Tripura, and West Bengal in India, have accepted the proposal to construct a pipeline through Bangladesh territory, in principle.