Unavailability of gas to the industries and infrastructure gap are major constraints to growth in the country's private sector, said President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Asif Ibrahim Thursday.

"Currently, unavailability of gas to the existing and new industries has created impediments to our investment and growth, especially in export-oriented industries," said the DCCI chief when the Board of Directors of the trade body called on Commerce Minister Ghulam Muhammed Quader at the latter's secretariat office.

He said immediate short-term measures need to be taken in order to find the best way to use the country's limited gas resource.

He said Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) should have its membership with European Union (EU) Accreditation Authority.

Mr Ibrahim proposed setting up of a chemical village for the entrepreneurs of old Dhaka and development of infrastructure and railway network for reducing traffic congestion in the capital.

He also suggested that the government should consider coal-based energy security as a long-term strategy for the economic development of the country.

He emphasised the role of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) in organising more need-based trade missions abroad, full realisation of China Plus One strategy, upgradation of the export policy, streamlining of taxation policies and taking effective steps on branding and IT-related sectors.

The Commerce Minister said all sorts of certification process like Import Registration Certificate (IRC) and Export Registration Certificate (ERC) should not be time consuming.

He assured the DCCI of providing all sorts of support from the government to the private sector.

Mr Quader stressed the need for strengthening and modernisation of the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) for market intervention in times of necessity.

He said his ministry is going to take proper measures so that the prices of essential commodities could not abnormally soar during the month of Ramadan.

DCCI Senior Vice-President Haider Ahmed Khan, Directors M Bashir Ullah Bhuiyan, TIM Nurul Kabir, Waqar Ahmad Choudhury, Khairul Majid Mahmud, Abul Hossain, Mohd Iftekharuddin, among others, were present.