Jamaat-e-Islami has demanded that the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) head office remain in Chittagong, strongly protesting a recent proposal to relocate it to Dhaka.
Muhammad Nazrul Islam, a Central Working Committee member and Chittagong Metropolitan Amir, issued the call in a media statement on Saturday morning. He urged the government to immediately cancel the relocation initiative, noting it has sparked intense concern among Chittagong residents and labor organizations.
"The BPC's new 50-crore taka building in Chittagong's Joypahar area is already nearing completion," Islam stated. He suggested maintaining a liaison office in Dhaka, but stressed that the main headquarters must stay in Chittagong to ensure energy security and administrative efficiency.
Islam argued that moving the headquarters defies logic, given that Chittagong is the operational hub of Bangladesh’s fuel sector. The country's primary seaport handles all major oil imports, and its sole oil installation—the Eastern Refinery—is located there.
Since BPC's inception, technical and administrative operations have been managed from Chittagong. Islam warned that altering this long-established structure risks coordination failures and operational stagnation. He emphasized that keeping the headquarters in the commercial capital is vital for administrative decentralization and balanced national development.
