The Energy and Mineral Resources Division has started working to determine the gas prices for the foreign investors in different sectors, State Minister for Energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain said yesterday.

He said the government is determined to set an identical pricing for foreign investors in power, fertiliser, cement and other sectors.

"However, the prices for the export-oriented industries and industries dependent purely on the domestic markets will be different," he said.

The state minister made the disclosure yesterday after a meeting with Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited at his ministry office.

He sat with the Titas as the ministry launched a bid to review the implementation of the directives made by it for the energy sector companies.

Mosharraf said a number of foreign companies are showing interest to invest in power, cement, fertiliser, chemical and steel sectors. Already, he said, Tata and several other companies signed expression of interests with the Board of Investment.

According to latest tariff structure, price of per thousand cubic feet of gas for power is Tk 73.19, for fertiliser Tk 63.41, captive power Tk 105.59 and industry Tk 145.20.

However, for foreign investors the standard tariff is Kafco price for fertiliser, AES for power and Lafarge for cement.

However, still the gas price compared to international market is lower in Bangladesh.

In re-fixing the prices for the foreign investors, officials concerned said the ministry will consider recommendations of National Energy Pricing Committee and suggestions of the committee formed two years back for determining gas price for the power sector.

Indications are there that the tariffs will be determined adding the production, transmission and distribution costs with the production cost of gas in old and new gas fields.

The state minister, however, did not say when the task will be complete.

The meeting was also attended by Secretary AKM Zafrullah Khan, Additional Secretary Ehsan-ul-Fattah, Petrobangla Chairman SR Osmany and Titas MD M Abdullah.