Despite explicit assurances delivered on the floor of parliament, the Ashuganj Fertiliser and Chemical Company Limited (AFCCL) in Brahmanbaria remains completely shut down due to an ongoing natural gas crisis. Six months have elapsed since the 1 May deadline pledged by the government, yet operations at the state-owned facility show no signs of resuming, leaving the plant idle for 19 consecutive months.
The prolonged closure of AFCCL—a critical producer with a daily manufacturing capacity of urea valued at approximately 50 million BDT—has resulted in cumulative production losses approaching 3,000 crore BDT. While the domestic production line stands frozen, the country continues to spend vast sums of foreign exchange importing urea to meet national agricultural demand.
The issue was formally raised in parliament on 23 April by independent Member of Parliament Rumeen Farhana, who proposed the immediate reopening of the facility located in her constituency. In response, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Iqbal Hasan Mahmud assured the house that gas supplies would be restored by 1 May, citing the critical need to safeguard the country’s agricultural sector. However, those commitments have yielded no concrete results on the ground.
Administrative officials at AFCCL report that despite zero output, the facility must continue disbursing salaries and operational overheads. Concerns are also mounting regarding the physical condition of complex machinery, which risks deteriorating due to prolonged inactivity. Tajul Islam Bhuiyan, Deputy General Manager (Administration), noted that while the daily financial loss remains significant, plant management remains hopeful of a resolution once liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports stabilise.
Engineering teams at the plant are currently exploring technical alternatives, including discussions with a foreign firm to evaluate options for running operations on reduced gas volumes. Meanwhile, the interruption has disrupted the supply of prilled urea across seven surrounding districts, placing immense pressure on the regional agricultural distribution network.
Established in 1983, AFCCL initially operated with a daily capacity of 1,600 tonnes, though age and wear have reduced its current output potential to 1,150 tonnes. Operations were suspended on 1 March last year after gas supplies were diverted.
During a recent site visit, Md Babul Miah, Chairman of the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), expressed optimism that production could resume by the end of the year. He highlighted that Bangladesh currently imports 2.6 to 2.7 million tonnes of urea annually. Bringing the nation’s state-owned fertiliser factories back to full operational capacity could save up to 22,000 crore BDT in import expenditures.
Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Limited (BGDCL), which supplies the facility, stated it is awaiting executive clearance. Mohammad Bappi Shahriar, Deputy General Manager (Transmission) at BGDCL, confirmed that the plant requires approximately 48 million cubic feet of gas daily and that distribution networks stand ready to reconnect supply immediately upon receiving official instructions.
Union leaders have urged the government to ensure not just a temporary restart, but an uninterrupted gas supply to prevent recurring technical breakdowns caused by frequent plant shutdowns.
