The government, being persuaded by private entrepreneurs, has scrapped a mandatory condition for arranging 70 per cent finance for six independent power plants from foreign banks.
While implementation of the IPPs became uncertain as the entrepreneurs had failed to arrange 70 per cent of the investment from foreign sources for the projects, the government took the decision to scrap the provision in July, officials said.
None of the entrepreneurs have started implementing their projects despite having extension of the deadlines for installation of the plants. According to the contracts, the plants were set to be installed by 2012, a Power Development Board official told New Age.
On January 29, 2012, the cabinet committee for government purchase set the condition in the wake of shortage of foreign currency due to import of capital machinery for rental power plants and excess import of fuel oil for the rental plants.
One and half a year after the purchase committee set the condition for installation of the IPPs, recently the committee decided to scrap the condition claiming that the country’s forex reserve had increased over $15 billion which was at a ‘satisfactory’ level.
The six fuel oil-fired plants are a 54.5MW plant at Bhairab, a 54MW fuel oil-fired plant at Munshiganj, two 55MW plants at Daulatpur in Nababganj and at Singair in Manikganj, a 54.363MW plant at Shatkhira and a 150MW dual fuel based plant at Keraniganj.
The state-run Power Development Board is set to buy electricity from the plants for 15 years.
Initially, the sponsor of the Bhairab project requested the government for scrapping the condition of borrowing 70 per cent of the investment from foreign sources so that it could implement the project.
Later, the power division sought the approval of scrapping the condition for all of the projects.
Meanwhile, the six plants have already been penalised by about Tk 71.82 crore till July this year for making delay in supplying electricity to the national grid.
-With New Age input
