Gas Crisis Forces More Than 900 Textile Mills To Shut

Despite recent assurances from the government, industrial areas across Bangladesh are yet to see any meaningful improvement in gas supplies. The prolonged shortage has forced more than 900 textile and yarn-producing mills to suspend operations completely, according to industry representatives.

The crisis is also disrupting production in several other gas-dependent sectors. Factory owners in the ready-made garment, steel, paper, particle board and ceramics industries say their production capacity has fallen sharply, with some facilities operating at less than half of their normal capacity.

The situation has caused growing frustration among industrialists, who say repeated assurances have failed to translate into a reliable supply of gas.

On 6 August, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud assured business leaders and industrial owners that the gas supply situation would improve rapidly. However, as of yesterday, industry representatives said there had been no significant improvement.

Factory owners in Narayanganj, Savar, Gazipur, Mymensingh and Manikganj reported that some areas experienced a slight improvement in gas pressure last Friday. The improvement was short-lived, however. Supplies subsequently returned to previous levels, while some industrial locations reportedly experienced even weaker pressure.

Shawkat Aziz Russell, president of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, told The Business Standard that more than 900 textile mills among the association’s over 1,800 members were currently completely shut because of the gas shortage.

He said the impact extended well beyond textile mills, with gas-dependent steel, paper, particle board and ceramic factories also suffering serious production disruptions.

Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said gas supplies in Narayanganj had shown a slight improvement on Monday but deteriorated again the following day.

The uncertainty is particularly severe for spinning and textile factories, where gas is essential to maintaining regular production. A managing director of a leading spinning mill in Araihazar, Narayanganj, speaking on condition of anonymity, said gas pressure at his factory had fallen to almost zero. This was far below the 15 pounds per square inch level that the government had pledged to provide.

According to the factory owner, the mill is losing around Tk2 crore every day because of the disruption. With production severely constrained, he said the company could struggle to pay workers’ wages and may ultimately have to consider selling assets to meet its obligations.

He also expressed concern that many factory owners could face difficulties paying gas and electricity bills for July and August, as well as workers’ wages, if the disruption continues.

Minhaz Haque, managing director of Fatullah Dyeing and Calendaring Limited, said industrialists had received several assurances from the authorities in the past, but successive deadlines had passed without a lasting solution. Factory owners, he said, now had little clarity about when the situation would return to normal.

The crisis has also affected workers whose earnings depend directly on factory output. In Narsingdi, one of the country’s major centres for handloom and textile production, concerns have grown over the loss of income among workers as mills remain closed.

Abdullah Al Mamun, former president of the Narsingdi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said workers at textile mills in Madhabdi had lost their earnings because factories were unable to operate. He said many of them were paid according to production, meaning that when production stopped, their income stopped as well.

According to Mamun, workers took to the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway yesterday to demand uninterrupted gas and electricity supplies. However, they were unable to remain on the road for long.

The claim of a protest was disputed by Madhabdi police. Officer-in-Charge Kamal Hossain denied receiving any information about such a demonstration. Attempts to obtain a response from Shibpur police Officer-in-Charge Md Kohinur Mia were unsuccessful.

The latest disruption follows a major reduction in gas supplies to the national grid after a fire and technical problems at Excelerate Energy’s floating liquefied natural gas terminal, or FSRU, in Maheshkhali on 21 July. The incident caused a sudden fall in gas availability, triggering a severe supply shortage across the country.

For Bangladesh’s gas-dependent industries, the problem is not limited to temporary production losses. Extended shutdowns can put pressure on factory cash flows because businesses continue to face fixed costs, including wages, utility bills and other operating expenses even when production is halted.

Textile mills occupy an important position in the country’s broader manufacturing and export supply chain, particularly through the production of yarn and fabric used by downstream garment manufacturers. A prolonged disruption could therefore affect not only individual mills but also other businesses linked to the textile and apparel industries.

Industry leaders are now seeking a dependable supply rather than further assurances. They say restoring adequate gas pressure is essential for reopening closed factories, maintaining employment and preventing further financial losses across the manufacturing sector.