Anisul Islam Noor :
India’s two giant companies Adani and Reliance signed deals to set up power plants in Bangladesh to generate 3000 megawatt of electricity, but the energy experts are in doubt about the implementation of the projects.
Besides, they say that the deal received political patronage since no international tender was invited, nor the companies had any previous experience of working outside the country. So, it is an infringement of the existing laws in Bangladesh.
The social media is rife with reports regarding this political patronage, particularly in the case of Adani. The well-known CNN-IBN correspondent Karan Thapar’s remark on Twitter is particularly significant.
Karan Thapar tweeted that Adani Power Limited got to sign an agreement or MOU for power projects in every country that Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited and committed of giving credit. Thapar released this tweet on 6 June. The very same day Adani and Reliance signed two MOUs with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) in Dhaka.
In his tweet, Karan Thapar stated, Narendra Modi committed pledge of giving credit of Rs 10 thousand crore when he visited Nepal, Rs 4.5 thousand crore to Bhutan, Rs 6,400 crore to Mongolia and Rs 12,800 crore (USD 2 billion) credit to Bangladesh. Adani has signed MOUs for power projects in each of these countries.
Adani generates 10,480 MW of electricity in India at present, but not a single our outside India so far. Normally a company is required to have experience in setting up power plants abroad, singly or jointly, before they take up such projects outside their own country.
According to ministry sources, Reliance has long been endeavoring to set up a 3000 MW power plant in Bangladesh fuelled by costly imported LNG (liquefied natural gas). It said that it would set up initially 2250 MW power plant and then another 750 MW.
Reliance has a 2250 MW LNG-fired newly built power plant in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, but the electricity price is too high for the Indian market. They are now not able to run the power plant and possibly they are trying to transfer that to Bangladesh. It is speculated that political patronage exists in this case too.
Power ministry sources feel that these projects may not be implemented in the long non. There is need for a consensus on location, cost of electricity another issues for such projects.
While signing the MOUs with Adani and Reliance on Saturday, Power Secretary Manwar Islam, however, expressed hope that the projects would be speedily implemented.
Addressing the Adani and Reliance officials, he urged them not to disappear after signing the MOU, as many companies did it in the past. The government wants early execution of these projects.
The question is whether initiative can be taken to implement any large power plant project based on unsolicited proposals of foreign companies in light of the Special Act of 2010 concerning quick supply of power and energy.
Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) member and Dhaka University Law Department Teacher Selim Mahmud said, the law does not mention the size of the project or whether the implementing company is to be local or foreign. So if the government wants, it can give large projects to foreign companies.
However, former power and energy affairs assistant to the chief advisor of the caretaker government, M Tamim said, no law can simply be interpreted literally. The aim, context and requirements of the the concerned law must be taken into cognizance. That particular law was made to save the country from a serious power crisis within the shortest time possible. That is why small quick rental power plants were set up under that law.
He said, the government has successfully overcome that crisis. Now the government is implementing mid and long term plan. The need for “quick supply” as mentioned in the law is no longer the priority. Base load plants should not be given priority. This does not include 3000 M LNG-fired power plants. Adani’s proposed 1600 MW coal-fired power plant for speedy supply of power is also not applicable. Actually the time for power plants under that law has passed long ago.
