The Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase (CCPP) on Wednesday approved five proposals of the Power Division-Four for extension of contracts with four gas-based rental power plants and one for setting up a new independent power producer (IPP) plant.
Another seven proposals of different departments under different ministries also received approval from the CCPP.
Besides, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave nod to another proposal of the Power Division for signing an unsolicited contract for the operation and maintenance of a public sector power plant.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the consecutive meetings of the two cabinet bodies where their respective members were present.
The four rental power plants which got the cabinet body approval are 50MW Kumargaon power plant, 50MW Fenchuganj plant, 20MW Bogra power plant, and 53MW Ashuganj power plant.
About the approvals, the finance minister said the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will purchase electricity from them on “No Power, No Payment” basis for which the government will have no obligation to buy power from the plants.
Of these, the contract with Energy Prima Ltd’s 50MW plant in Kumargaon will get an extension for another one year till December 31 in 2022 at a cost of Tk86.52 crore while the same company’s contract for 50MW power plant in Fenchuganj will be extended for three years at a cost of Tk278.64 crore, contract for 20MW Bogura plant will be extended for three years at a cost of Tk106.92 crore and United Energy Ltd’s contract for 53MW Fenchuganj plant will get extension for another five years at a cost of Tk451.20 crore.
The contracts with these companies were extended several times in the past, said Shamsul Arefin, additional secretary to the Cabinet Division, adding that this time the contracts will be extended at a lower tariff than that of previous contracts.
For instance, he said Kumargaon power plant's tariff was set at US 2.4691 cents, equivalent to Tk1.97 in the new contract while it was US 3.4737 cents in the previous contract.
The CCPA approved a proposal of the Consortium of (1) Confidence Power Holdings Ltd, (2) GE Capital US Holding Inc, (3) Confidence Power Ltd and (4) Electropac Industries Ltd for setting up a 660MW base-load power plant as independent power producer (IPP) at Mirsarai of Chittagong.
The BPDB will purchase electricity from it for 22 years tenure at levelized tariff of US 3.679 cents, equivalent to Tk2.943 per kilowatt-hour (each unit) if the plant runs through gas.
But if the plant runs through imported re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG), each unit’s levelized tariff will be US 6.69 cents, equivalent to Tk5.4368. The BPDB will have to pay Tk69,152.16 crore over the 22 years of contract period for purchase of electricity from the plant.
The committee approved a proposal of the Food Ministry to import 50,000 MT of wheat from Bagadiya Brothers Pvt. Ltd, India, at a cost of Tk173.36 crore.
Directorate General of Family Planning’s proposal to procure 29.76 million oral pills from three drug companies at Tk148 crore received approval.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in principle approved a proposal of the BPDB to procure the operation and maintenance service of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for the fourth unit of the Ghorasal Power Plant through direct procurement method.