Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company is reeling under the weight of unpaid bills, with total arrears having soared past Tk13,366 crore.
Of this sum, state-owned entities, including power plants and fertiliser factories, account for around Tk4,600 crore.
The power sector tops the list of defaulters, with a staggering Tk6,778 crore outstanding—split between state-owned companies (Tk3,706.91 crore) and private power producers (Tk3,041.17 crore).
According to the company’s March report, private entities owe Tk8,765 crore.
Leading the pack is Meghnaghat Power Ltd, a subsidiary of Meghna Group, which alone owes Tk1,439 crore in unpaid gas bills.
Summit Group’s four power plants collectively owe Tk939.64 crore.
Summit Meghnaghat Power Company accounts for Tk620.52 crore, while its offshoot, Summit Meghnaghat Power Company-2, owes Tk305.11 crore.
Unique Meghnaghat Power Ltd, owned by the Unit Group, has an outstanding balance of Tk197.09 crore.
Among government-run plants, three units under the Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB) are the biggest defaulters.
The 412MW Haripur power plant owes Tk1,636.23 crore, the 335MW Siddhirganj plant Tk1,167.09 crore, and the 240MW Siddhirganj plant Tk277.66 crore.
Industrial clients, too, have let arrears pile up into the thousands of crores. Dubai-based RAK Ceramics leads with Tk59.17 crore in unpaid bills for six months.
Hossain Pulp and Paper Mills follows with Tk31.95 crore. In terms of overdue duration, ABS Garments Ltd holds the dubious distinction—owing over Tk14.92 crore across 176 invoices.
Noman Knit Composite, part of the Noman Group, owes Tk17.17 crore.
The ballooning arrears have hamstrung Titas, affecting both its operational costs and developmental projects.
Being state-run, the company remains powerless to take decisive action against government defaulters.
Meetings are held, decisions made, but little progress ensues.
Private firms, once shielded by ruling party affiliates, now operate comfortably under the wings of bureaucrats and opposition leaders.
They deploy a rotating cast of influence-wielders—from political advisers to secretaries, from civil servants to the police—to delay payments.
Each time, they plead for “a few more months out of respect,” perpetuating a cycle that Titas officers are weary of repeating.
Files often go untouched—not for want of effort, but due to the shadow of influence.
In some cases, insiders allegedly collude with defaulters, guiding them through the art of lobbying while ensuring their gas supply remains uninterrupted.
Thus, unpaid gas bills are repurposed into working capital for thriving businesses.
Titas Managing Director Shahnewaz Parvez claimed that vigorous drives were underway and that arrears had declined compared to previous figures.
Pressed on the matter of lobbying, he acknowledged: “We are indeed exasperated by it in some cases.”
