Along with fuel, around $500 million of LNG imports will also be financed by the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), said the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources in a statement.
Engineer Hani Salem Sonbal, chief executive officer of the ITFC, paid a courtesy call on State Minister for Energy Nasrul Hamid at the Secretariat today (27 February) when the issue was brought up.
Although the initial amount was said to be $500 million, it would go up eventually.
Sonbal also said the ITFC was interested in increasing strategic partnership with Bangladesh.
Thanking the ITFC CEO, the state minister said, "We will work unitedly to enhance the existing relationship. The size of the economy of Bangladesh is gradually increasing. There are huge investment opportunities in ongoing and planned projects in Bangladesh.
"Oil refineries, oil and gas transportation pipelines, energy efficient power, renewable energy, etc are open for investment and financing."
He said Bangladesh wanted to provide uninterrupted electricity at an affordable price, where the ITFC can play a role in modernisation of distribution and transmission systems.
At this time, among others, Secretary of Energy and Mineral Resources Department Nurul Alam, Petrobangla Chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker and ITFC General Manager Abdihamid Abu were present.
In the beginning of this month, Bangladesh secured a $2.1 billion loan from the Jeddah-based International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) to address its critical energy import requirements for the fiscal 2024-25, a substantial increase from the $1.4 billion obtained in the current fiscal year.
Under the terms of the credit agreement, the ITFC will fund the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) for petroleum product imports and Petrobangla for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.