Seven more city areas set to get prepaid gas metres
Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd will probably install some 120,000 more prepaid gas metres in metropolis with the unspent fund of JICA, a Japanese donor agency.
According to official sources, a revised development project profile (RDPP) was sent by the Titas Gas to the Planning Commission through Energy and Mineral Resources Division.
"Once we have the approval to the RDPP from the executive committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec), we'll proceed to install the metres in seven more areas in Dhaka city under a preexisting project," said Faizur Rahman, project director of the prepaid metering project of the Titas Gas.
Under an existing project, he said, 200,000 prepaid gas metres have up to now been installed in 26 regions of the city.
"The same Japanese contractor will do the job under a variation order," Faizur Rahman told UNB.
He said installing these new meters begins within this year and complete by June 2022.
Official sources said the areas, where the new prepaid metres should be installed for household consumers include Paltan, Ramna, New Market, Khilgaon and Segunbagicha which are mainly located in the central part of metropolis beneath the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).
Beneath the existing project, prepaid metres have already been installed in 26 areas mainly under Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), including Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara, Bashundhara, Badda, Tejgaon, Cantonment, Kafrul, Khilkhet, Uttara, and Mirpur.
Many consumers of the areas said they are receiving advantage of the prepaid gas metres because they now pay less than one-third of the total amount which they paid under non-metering system monthly.
According to official data received from Titas Gas, the business has about 2.783 million consumers in its command area and 2.764 million which are household consumers.
Titas Gas authorities took up the prepaid gas meringue project mainly to check gas pilferage as there are widespread allegations that huge unlawful gas connections have already been given over the city.
"Even, some against the law consumers pilfer gas through manifold ways. They use one connection to use gas in so many unapproved ovens," said a top Titas official adding that prepaid metres will take a look problem.
Titas Gas started installing the prepaid gas metres in a few regions of Dhaka in September 2017 under a JICA-funded project. The project was said to be completed by December 2018 however the installation was completed recently.
Officials said existing Japanese contractor Toyokeiki Co Ltd, which supplied and installed the prior 200,000 metres, are certain to get the job of the excess 120,000 metres beneath the same conditions and conditions, and prices.
Titas Gas officials said JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), which funded Tk 752 crore for the prevailing project has mobilised fund from the unspent money from its four ongoing projects in the country's energy sector.
