Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited (Bengali: পশ্চিমাঞ্চল গ্যাস কোম্পানী লিমিটেড) is a Bangladesh government owned natural gas company responsible for supplying natural gas in the North-western part of Bangladesh.[1][2]
History
Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited was established on 29 November 1999 under Petrobangla.[3] The company would distribute natural gas in Rajshahi Division.[4]
In May 2008, the manager of Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited, Kazi Nowfel Anwar, bought a car with company money and registered it in his name.[5] When the matter came to light the car burned down inside the company garage and the insurance company refused to pay due to the suspicious circumstances of the fire.[5] In 2009, GBB Power Limited was declared a defaulter for not paying the bills of the gas company.[6] The company defaulted again next year.[7]
In 2013, Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited installed a gas distribution network in Rajshahi by breaking the roads but did not repair the road which left them in a state of disrepair.[8] The city received gas connection in 2012.[9]
Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited, under managing director Abdul Mannan Patwary, asked for 2.58 billion taka from the government to establish a gas pipeline from Rajshahi to Saidpur.[10] It would be a 150 kilometer pipeline at a cost of 13.59 billion taka and is expected to be completed in December 2023.[11]
Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited asked for a raise to the price of gas leading Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission to hold a three-day public hearing at the Bangladesh Institute of Administration and Management auditorium.[12] Petrobangla which supplies Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited and five other gas distributors in Bangladesh also wanted to raise the price of bulk gas.[12] The Ministry of Finance had been pressuring state owned companies to raise their revenue.[12] The companies sought to more than double the gas prices.[13] On 1 May 2022, Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited stopped natural gas supply in Rajshahi Division for two weeks.[14] Last month gas supplies were shut down during Eid in Bogra due to repair work by Gas Transmission Company Limited.[15][16]
^Staff Correspondent; Rajshahi (2012-01-31). "Rajshahi gets gas supply". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-07-12. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)