TBM Report
In a strategic move to fortify national energy security and fast-track the development of midstream gas infrastructure, the government has constituted a high-powered 9-member ‘Cabinet Sub-Committee on Energy Security’. According to an official gazette notification issued by the Cabinet Division on Monday (June 1), the Minister for the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources has been appointed as the chairperson of this apex regulatory body.
The structural composition of the sub-committee reflects a coordinated inter-ministerial framework. Its members include the Minister for Finance and Planning; the Minister of State for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources; the Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and the Advisor to the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology. To streamline investment compliance and administrative execution, the Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), along with the Federal Secretaries of the Finance Division, Power Division, and Energy and Mineral Resources Division, have been co-opted into the panel.
The committee’s Terms of Reference (ToR) mandate the immediate evaluation and swift execution of critical sovereign energy projects. Specifically, the panel is tasked with overseeing sustainable liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) import strategies, evaluating the logistics for gas transmission from the onshore fields of Bhola to the national grid, and accelerating the installation of both Floating Storage Regasification Units (FSRUs) and land-based LNG/LPG terminals.
To resolve technical bottlenecks, the sub-committee has been granted statutory autonomy to solicit expert testimonies from public corporations, independent energy consultants, and private sector stakeholders. Furthermore, the chairperson holds the executive authority to co-opt additional technical members as required. The Energy and Mineral Resources Division will function as the secretariat for the committee, convening operational sessions based on infrastructure urgency.
, the Minister for the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources has been appointed as the chairperson of this apex regulatory body.){kind=link}