Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Prof M Tamim on Sunday said the government has formulated a number of polices including the National Energy Policy (NEP) to facilitate the investors, reports agency.

The investment in Bangladesh is now well protected by the government polices, he said adding conducive legal environment with recent separation of judiciary will facilitate the foreign entrepreneurs.

The special assistant was addressing the programme titled ‘Road Show on Bangladesh Offshore Bidding Round-2008’ at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the city. Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation(Petrobangla) organized function.

Secretary of Energy and Mineral Resources Division Mohammad Mohsin and Chairman of Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation(Petrobangla) Jalal Ahmed also addressed on the occasion.

Describing energy as the basic means of survival, Tamim said “at present we are heavily dependent on fossil fuel which can not be sustained for long due to limitation of reserve. Considering the importance of energy in development, the government has been updating the national energy policy with the view of providing energy for sustainable economic growth, he added.

The special assistant said over the last decade, gas consumption has been increasing at a rate of 8 percent per annum. He said alongside the gas sector, so far, we have discovered five coal deposits with proven reserve of about 2,350 million metric tons and the proven plus probable reserve of about 3,450 million tons. Tamim said “We are expecting a coal policy soon, which will address the concerns surrounding extraction of coal”.