Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said Bangladesh’s gas and electricity problems cannot be resolved overnight, and that any new arrangement would require at least two years. He made the remarks on Sunday afternoon at a seminar organized by AmCham at the InterContinental Hotel in the capital. He said the government was working to address the shortages because the economy could not move forward without electricity and gas.

The minister described the power and gas crisis as an inherited problem, saying it could not be solved within six months or a year. However, he said the government was not wasting time in pursuing solutions and was working tirelessly to ease the situation.

For the future energy system, the government is developing an energy mix combining renewable energy, gas and coal-based power generation, Chowdhury said. He also said the government was working to improve the business environment by reducing red tape, corruption and harassment in the tax system. The finance minister added that the country’s capital market was in a better position than before.