"Unfortunately, while good progress had been made by energy ministry in designing the new pricing regimes, they had not been introduced as of now, notwithstanding prior agreements reached," says a WB draft aide-memoire.

A WB-IDA follow-up mission on oil and gas sector technical assistance that visited Dhaka recently was informed that the ministry regretted the delay and that it would be gazetted before end of September and introduced on October 1.

Officials at the Energy and Mineral Resources Division said the new pricing regimes could not be gazetted due to BG Press's engagement with other urgent matters.

They expect that the pricing policies could be implemented on return of State Minister for Energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain from abroad on October 4, with approval from the prime minister.

"The government also wants to implement the new regimes by the Energy Regulatory Commission now in the formation process," said an official.

But, there are speculations that the government might defer the implementation of the new tariff regimes for some time apprehending public reactions as over 5 percent rise of prices, mainly for gas, will take place under the policies.

The WB, however, thinks that the new tariff regimes do not imply an increase in price levels, prices could go up or down, stay consistent upon developments on the international market.

"Furthermore, these regimes would be made transparent so that the public is aware of the reasons underlying price changes," said the World Bank.

It has also mobilised a grant equivalent to $100,000 to support the energy ministry in the introduction of the new tariffs. The grant assistance, provided by the Italian Trust Fund, would finance technical requirements, equipment and training to support the introduction.

The donor agency has also stressed holding open workshops in which the stakeholders, the public and media would be informed of the new pricing regimes and their implementation.

In petroleum sector, within the framework of the Development Support Credit, the new regime was to provide that the price of each product would be based on international spot, plus freight, insurance, port fees, handling, storage, transportation and taxes.

The first adjustment was expected on July 1, with provision for prices being revised periodically, or whenever they fluctuate more than 5 percent.

Regarding natural gas, the government and the WB had agreed that the tariffs would be equivalent to the price of gas as a commodity, the costs of transmission and distribution, and taxes, as decided by the government.

The first adjustment was to take place on September 1, and that tariff would be adjusted periodically, or whenever they fluctuate more than 10 percent. Later the readjustment date was re-fixed to October 1.