Haque Specialized Group's News

NARAIL, Aug 9 (BSS): The 93rd birth anniversary of world renowned artist SM Sultan will be observed here tomorrow (Thursday). SM Sultan, a legendary artist of Bangladesh, won Ekushey Padak in 1982, Bangladesh Charu Shilpi Sangsad Award in 1986 and Swadhinata Padak in 1993. He was declared the Man of Asia in 1982 by Cambridge University and Bangladesh government declared him a resident of artist in 1984. He joined the International Conference of Painters in America in 1950 as the representative of the then Pakistan government. In observance of the occasion, SM Sultan Foundation and Narail district administration have chalked out a daylong programme at Sultan Smriti Sangrahasala.....

Published at: 2017-08-10 00:00:03

Criminal Investigation Department (CID) personnel arrested on Tuesday five members of an alleged fraud syndicate from Hazaribagh in the city on charges of cheating people by issuing internet-based online Master Cards. They also recovered 141 Payoneer pre-paid Master Cards, Tk 0.92 million and fake Payoneer pre-paid Master Card - making instruments and materials from their possession. The syndicate members had been involved in selling online - based Payoneer pre-paid Master Card through issuing those by using fake names and addresses for a long time.     — UNB....

Published at: 2017-08-10 00:00:03

The government on Wednesday approved proposals of signing deals for setting up 10 diesel and furnace oil-fired independent power producer (IPP) plants. Cabinet Committee on Public Procurement gave the approval at a meeting at Bangladesh Secretariat with Finance Minister A M A Muhith in the chair. The committee also gave approval for rice and wheat import alongside signing agreement for setting up a LNG terminal, among others. Briefing newsmen after the meeting Cabinet Division Additional Secretary Mustafizur Rahman said from the newly-approved IPP plants per unit of diesel-fired electricity will cost the exchequer Tk 19.66 to Tk 19.99, while the furnace oil-fired electricity will cost Tk 8.25 to Tk 8.37 per unit. Presently more than two dozens of IPP plants are in operation, from where the government buys electricity.   Under the new approval, APR Energy will set up a 300 megawatt (MW) diesel-fired power plant for next five years at Keraniganj in Dhaka. The plant will sell its electricity to the government at Tk 19.99 per kilowatt hour. Aggreko International Projects Ltd will establish a diesel-fired 200 MW power plant at Keraniganj for five-year term and charge the exchequer Tk 19.66 per unit. Acorn Infrastructure Services Ltd will set up a 100 MW furnace oil-fired power plant in Chittagong for next 15 years. The plant will charge Tk 8.259 for each unit of electricity. Bangla Track Ltd will establish two power plants - one in Nowapara of Jessore and another in Daudkandi of Comilla - which will produce 300 MW of electricity during the next five years. The company will charge the government Tk 19.99 for per unit of electricity. Confidence Power Holdings Ltd has been given an approval to set up a 113 MW furnace oil-fired power plant for the next 15 years and charge the exchequer Tk 8.33 against per unit of electricity. Desh Energy Ltd will set up a 200 MW furnace oil-fired power plant in Chandpur for next 15 years, and it will charge the government Tk 8.37 per unit. Midland Power Co Ltd is given approval for setting up a 150 MW power plant for next fifteen years. The furnace oil-fired plant will charge Tk 8.25 against supplying per unit of electricity. Orion Power Meghnaghat Ltd will set up a 105 MW furnace oil-fired power plant in Khulna for 15 years and charge Tk 8.33 per unit. A 300 MW power plant in Gazipur, to be built by Consortium of Summit Corporation and Summit Power Ltd, will charge the exchequer Tk 8.33 against per unit of electricity during the next 15 years. The cabinet committee also approved import of 50,000 tonnes of wheat and 50,000 tonnes of non-aromatic bashmati rice through international quotation. Per tonne wheat will cost US$256.97 and rice $419.51. The meeting approved a proposal of energy ministry for importing 1.0 million tonnes of gas oil, 130,000 tonnes of Jet-A-1 oil, and 240,000 tonnes of furnace oil from various state-owned suppliers on government to government (G2G) basis. Another meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, also chaired by Mr Muhith at Bangladesh Secretariat, approved in principle the term-sheet agreement for setting up a LNG terminal in Cox's Bazar. The terminal will have handling capacity of 500 mmcfd. syful-islam@outlook.com....

Published at: 2017-08-10 00:00:03

Fuel-hungry industries in Chittagong will be getting new piped gas connections from the first half of next year while those in Dhaka and elsewhere shortly afterwards.    The fresh gas supply will start immediate after the import of LNG (liquefied natural gas) into the country, according to government's energy plans rolled out Wednesday. Energy Secretary Nazimuddin Chowdhury disclosed the government plans at a seminar at the Petrobangla auditorium on the occasion of the National Energy Security Day. Prime Minister's adviser on energy issues Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury was chief guest at the seminar. The energy secretary said all necessary arrangements are being made to import LNG to meet country's mounting natural gas demand. "From next year, we hope nobody will be able to say country's industrialisation is being impeded due to energy crisis," he told the function. Some 350 industries in Chittagong have been listed to get gas connections, he said. The energy ministry had a meeting with businessmen in Chittagong over the issue of imported gas recently and discussions with Dhaka-based industry owners would be held soon. "We shall offer them an indicative price soon," he added. But he didn't mention anything about the government pricing of the imported gas. Manager of the state-run Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL) Kazi Anwarul Azim, however, said the price will be at cost. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has instructed replacing 122 per cent duties on imports of LNG with 15 per cent value-added tax (VAT) once LNG is injected into the system, he said. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury said the government has been pursuing various ways to meet the shortage of energy. "The country's natural gas reserves are depleting," he said, adding that the prospect of new gas finds onshore is slim. However, he said, efforts are there to discover new reserves in offshore hydrocarbon turfs. Terming the decision of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to purchase gas fields from a foreign company a historic one, he said that decision greatly contributed to the current gas production. On August 9, 1975, Bangabandhu had bought five onshore gas fields from the then Shell Oil for the state at British Pound 4.5 million. The government has been observing the day since 2010. The seminar was also addressed, among others, by Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission chairman Monwar Islam and Petrobangla chairman Abul Mansur Md Faizullah. Energy Division's deputy secretary Moniruzzaman and PRGCL manager Kazi Md Anwarul Azim presented two separate presentations on LNG import and pipeline-construction plan for oil transportation. Azizjst@yahoo.com....

Published at: 2017-08-10 00:00:03

On the list of English newspapers, The Daily Star is the highest circulated daily in Bangladesh followed by The Financial Express. The third position is jointly shared by the New Age and Daily Observer. Dhaka Tribune is the fifth largest English daily, according to a recent data of the Department of Films and Publications (DFP). Bangladesh Pratidin tops the circulation list of Bangla dailies with Prothom Alo coming a close second. Kaler Kantho and Jugantor rank third jointly with the same number of copies in circulation. Ittefaq and Janakantha rank 4th followed by Amader Shomoy. Finance Minister Muhith questioned on Tuesday the number of newspapers after emerging from a meeting with the newspaper owners' association. He said he has doubts that there are even 15 newspapers, at best 20. The DFP has put the number of dailies published from Dhaka at 203, and once the number of daily publications from outside are added, the figure jumps to 479. As many as 304 weekly, fortnightly, monthly and tri-monthly titles are brought out from Dhaka alone while media entities enlisted with the DFP total 634. The DFP in the chart claims 44 Bangla-language and 15 English dailies in Dhaka and 32 vernacular dailies published from cities and towns are paying their staff as per the eighth wage board recommendations. Amid the frenzied discussions about Finance Minister AMA Muhith's remarks about the pay cheques of journalists on Tuesday, bdnews24.com says a look into the DFP list reveals that many unheard-of newspapers boast selling tens of thousands of copies, with fictitious circulation figures. The news agency report, however, did not mention how many of the newspapers pay taxes and how many are loss-making entities. Some analysts suggest an objective enquiry into such returns to reveal the state of financial conditions of the media industry as a whole.....

Published at: 2017-08-10 00:00:03