Summit Group, the leading private sector conglomerate recognized as the architect of Bangladesh's infrastructure development, is today facing unprecedented political persecution and administrative vengeance. Purposeful blows are being dealt one after another to this major corporate group, which has worked with transparency and professionalism for years to consolidate national energy security and meet the country's electricity demand. The unilateral cancellation of the contract for Summit's second Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) and the simultaneous freezing of its top executives' bank accounts are not merely a plot to destroy an industrial group, but a move pushing the country's overall economy and energy sector into deep and uncertain darkness.

Contract Cancellation and the Humanitarian Shock

Under direct instructions from the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources, Petrobangla canceled the long-term LNG terminal agreement with Summit. Notably, on March 30, 2024, during the Sheikh Hasina administration, Petrobangla and Summit signed a Terminal Use Agreement, an Implementation Agreement, and a 15-year contract (to supply 1.5 million tonnes of LNG annually starting in 2026) through a fully transparent process as part of forward-looking energy demand planning.

Years of investment, international partnerships, and technical preparations were shattered in an instant without providing any logical cause for the cancellation. Expressing disappointment, Summit Group clearly stated that it holds a clean and exemplary record in building long-term, sustainable infrastructure in Bangladesh. They will appeal for a legal review against this whimsical and irrational administrative decision.

Economic Blockade and Institutional Damage

As part of these retaliatory measures, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) froze the bank accounts of Summit Group Chairman Muhammad Aziz Khan, his brother former Commerce Minister Muhammad Faruk Khan, BIPPA President Faisal Khan, and other family members for one month. Beyond personal accounts, transaction activities of corporate accounts owned by them have also been suspended.

Concurrently, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) requested a freeze on share transfers of this leading national enterprise. As a result of such harsh and one-sided actions, the livelihoods of thousands of officials, engineers, and workers are now severely threatened. This hostile behavior toward the country's largest private power producer directly harms ordinary working-class people.

Power Crisis and Public Suffering

Summit currently operates one of the two active FSRUs in the country with high efficiency, ensuring an uninterrupted gas supply to the national grid. Under these circumstances, canceling the second FSRU contract out of political vendetta places the country's future energy security at extreme risk.

The ordinary citizens of the country are paying the price for the rash and vengeful decisions of the unelected Yunus government. At a time when gas and power shortages are acute in factories and households across the country, tying the hands of an experienced and competent domestic enterprise cannot be a farsighted economic strategy. Due to this unilateral decision, the nation will face severe electricity and gas crises in the coming days, rendering the daily lives of affected citizens even more unbearable.

Keeping infrastructure development and economic stability above political turmoil is a fundamental condition for a country's survival. Yet, the government's stepmotherly attitude and retaliatory actions toward Summit Group are completely destroying confidence in domestic private investment. Becoming a victim of political vendetta, a national institution—along with the hopes and aspirations of hundreds of thousands tied to it—is collapsing today.

Author: Mohammad A. Arafat, Politician, Political Analyst, and Former Minister