Going big on biogas!
Rahman's news report, highlighting the Trust Bank's thrust on financing the biogas sector, is good news for energy-starved Bangladesh. However, I felt that the report was to an extent incomplete to be really attractive for prospective investors or motivators who can encourage their sources in the village level to go for it. His statement, and I quote was "A beneficiary will buy four cows with the money". It would have been better to state "A beneficiary can set up a biogas plant and also buy four cows with the money". That would have been more to the point. However, no mention was made of the repayment terms and the period of repayment, which are important factors for the borrowers.
Without the important and relevant information, the report was to some extent incomplete. Another important information missing was that whether the interest would be calculated on simple or compound rate basis; as well as if there was any up-front or transaction charge, that had to be paid to the bank.
The borrowers need all the detailed information, so that there are no hidden charges anywhere. Of further help could have been to tabulate a sample calculation, say based on a loan of Tk 25,000 for a period of ten years, showing the frequency and amount of each instalment. Something like this would have been more helpful.
However, this is an attractive proposition, and hopefully it will encourage people to set up many biogas plants. Enterprising banks should in the same manner finance the setting up of solar panels in urban as well as rural areas to overcome our desperate shortage of electricity.
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