DHAKA: Expressing joy over the launch of the country’s first-ever private-sector Bitumen Plant, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said the Bashundhara Group solved the country’s bitumen crisis.
He also said: “For the sake of Bashundhara, we don’t have to import Bitumen anymore. So, we’re very glad to have it.”
AHM Mustafa Kamal was addressing the launching ceremony of the country’s first-ever private-sector Bitumen Plant as the chief guest at Pangaon in Keraniganj on Saturday (February 22).
Bashundhara Group under its new concern Bashundhara Oil and Gas Company Ltd has built the 'Bashundhara Bitumen Plant.’
AHM Mustafa Kamal said: “So far we have not found a solution to Bitumen. We did not find the Bitumen agreeable to our weather. We could not maintain quality of excellence after import. Roads would not be sustainable. But Bashundhara has come up with that solution. They are also planning to export Bitumen abroad after meeting country's demands. This is a big achievement for Bangladesh.”
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and Managing Director Sayem Sobhan Anvir attended the launching ceremony of the bitumen plant.
The Bashundhara bitumen plant is able to produce 850,000 tonnes of bitumen and asphalt annually.
The plant has the capacity to produce bitumen grades such as Cutback, Emulsified, Oxidized and Polymer (SBS, Rubber Powder) and customized as per client’s required specifications.
Bangladesh’s monthly bitumen demand is around 42,000 tonnes while the demand is growing at an average rate of 10-15 per cent a year, sources said.
Around 90 per cent of the country’s bitumen demand of 500,000 tonnes is met through imports. The rest 10 per cent of bitumen is provided by state-run Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL).
Bashundhara Bitumen Plant has also the plan to export bitumen after meeting local demand.
Bitumen is a binding organic material made from the by-products of refined crude oil. It is widely used in construction, primarily as a constituent of products used in paving and roofing.
BDST: 1506 HRS, FEB 22, 2020
AH/SMS
