She also faces stiff opposition from her arch-rival, former prime minister Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) which has been repeatedly demanding the resignation of the Awami League government. In an interview with the United News of Bangladesh news agency on Tuesday, Sheikh Hasina said Tuesday was special for three reasons: it marked the end of her second year in power, it was the 49th anniversary of the day her party was formed, and it was the day Bangladesh was celebrating the opening of a billion-dollar bridge touted as the biggest in South Asia.

Hasina said she was confident her government could kick-start the sluggish economy. ``We know what our problem is,'' she said. ``Economic development will be my government's main focus in the third year -- how to improve production, speedindustrialisation and attain economic self-reliance.''

Many commentators here believe that in order to sort out the economy, the Prime Minister must first reform the unreliable power industry.

Power stations across Bangladesh failed again on Saturday, plunging the country into darkness for several hours. If the power situation is not resolved, the economy could go into a downward slide and exports will drop, analysts say.

On Monday, Zia slammed the government for all-round failures and pledged to launch a campaign to overthrow the administration. ``If the government fails to improve the economic, power and law and order situation, we will stage a massive march and announce such a tough action plan on July 1 that it will be forced to quit,'' she told thousands of supporters in Dhaka.

``The government's two years in power are a picture of dismal failure and false promises.''