Bangladesh is hoping to secure its biggest ever foreign investment in the infrastructure sector, as negotiations are under way with Indian conglomerate Reliance Group for a $3bn power project.
Under the proposed deal, a 3,000 megawatt power plant will be set up in Chittagong by the Indian multinational, which has expertise in this sector.
According to the Reliance Power website, the company has the largest portfolio of power projects in the Indian private sector, based on coal, gas, hydro and renewable energy, with an operating portfolio of 5,945MW.
They will import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to produce gas in the proposed plant as Bangladesh is currently experiencing shortage of the natural resource.
In early 2000, the then BNP government negotiated with another Indian conglomerate, Tata Group, for a $3bn investment in three power and steel projects; but the deal did not go through as the government denied the multinational’s request for a dedicated supply of gas.
The reliance project will be an independent power plant and it will be constructed in phases.
The government will sign a power purchase agreement at an agreed price, with an option of reviewing the price after a certain interval.
“We are negotiating and hope to seal the deal during the visit of the Indian prime minister [Narendra Modi] to Dhaka,” Energy Adviser Tawfiq-E-Elahi Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune.
The energy-starving Bangladesh is currently importing 500MW of electricity from India and is in the process of importing another 500MW. In addition to that, India has agreed to sell another 100MW to Bangladesh from Palatana power plant in Tripura.
