US to fund $3.5m for CNG set-up
UNB, Dhaka
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will provide $3.5 million for the development of CNG (compressed natural gas) infrastructure run by private operators.The money will be channelled through banks as credit to Bangladeshi private entrepreneurs and businesses willing to install CNG infrastructure. The USAID has signed two agreements with Prime Bank Limited and Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Limited in this regard. The agreement with the USAID is believed to be the first of its kind to support CNG infrastructure anywhere in the world, a press release said. The agreements were signed against the backdrop of a mini-trade show hosted by Clean Cities International, the US Department of Energy and the Trade Centre of the US Embassy in Dhaka on November 18-19 at Hotel Sheraton, Dhaka. The show opened up an opportunity for the US companies to meet the CNG fuelling station buyers. Funding under an Asian Deve-lopment Bank (ADB) programme is expected to be available for 30 stations by this year. But the USAID feels that hundreds of stations will be needed in future to support the rapid conversion of vehicles.
| 
