Deal inked with India’s Reliance to set up 718-MW plant in Meghnaghat

More than four years into the initial deal, the government yesterday (Sunday) signed a number of agreements with Reliance Group to allow the Indian conglomerate to set up a 718-MW gas-based combined cycle power plant in Meghnaghat.

After Adani Power and SP Infra, Reliance Power is the third Indian private company that will build its maiden power plant in Bangladesh amid a surplus of electricity generation capacity in the country.

The signing ceremony was held at Bidyut Bhaban yesterday (Sunday). Four separate agreements were signed. These were: power purchase agreement, implementation agreement, land lease agreement and gas supply agreement.

Sheikh Fazlul Amin, joint secretary of the Power Division, Saiful Islam Azad, secretary of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), Mohammad Jahangir Azad, company secretary of the Power Grid Company Limited (PGCB), Mahmudur Rab of the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution and Company Limited (TGTDCL) and Sameer Kumar Gupta, director of Reliance Bangladesh LNG and Power Limited, signed the agreements on behalf of their respective organisations.

Under the agreement, the BPDB will buy electricity from Reliance for Tk. 5.85 per kilowatt-hour (unit cost) for the next 22 years. During this period, the government will have to spend a total of Tk. 80,945 crore (about USD 8bn) to buy electricity from the plant.

Speaking on the occasion as the chief guest, Dr Tawfique-e-Elahi Chowdhury, adviser for energy and power to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said, “It was a complex project. Hence, it took more than four years to come up with project agreements and terminologies.”

The import of LNG, use of the requisite gas in the power plant and also sales of the remaining portion of the imported gas to the Bangladesh government were all part of Reliance's initial plan, he said.

Riva Ganguly Das, Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh, Abul Kalam Azad, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) coordinator, Abu Hena Mohammad Rahmatul Munim, TGTDCL chairman, and Khalid Mahmood, BPDB chairman, were present on the occasion.

This is the first phase of the 3,000-MW power generation projects in Bangladesh proposed by the company. In 2015, Reliance inked an agreement with the BPDB, expressing its interest to install four gas-based power plants, each with a capacity of 750MW.

 

Deal inked with Indias Reliance to set up 718-MW plant in Meghnaghat

More than four years into the initial deal, the government yesterday (Sunday) signed a number of agreements with Reliance Group to allow the Indian conglomerate to set up a 718-MW gas-based combined cycle power plant in Meghnaghat. After Adani Power and SP Infra, Reliance Power is the third Indian private company that will build its maiden power plant in Bangladesh amid a surplus of electricity generation capacity in the country. The signing ceremony was held at Bidyut Bhaban yesterday (Sunday). Four separate agreements were signed. These were: power purchase agreement, implementation agreement, land lease agreement and gas supply agreement. Sheikh Fazlul Amin, joint secretary of the Power Division, Saiful Islam Azad, secretary of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), Mohammad Jahangir Azad, company secretary of the Power Grid Company Limited (PGCB), Mahmudur Rab of the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution and Company Limited (TGTDCL) and Sameer Kumar Gupta, director of Reliance Bangladesh LNG and Power Limited, signed the agreements on behalf of their respective organisations. Under the agreement, the BPDB will buy electricity from Reliance for Tk. 5.85 per kilowatt-hour (unit cost) for the next 22 years. During this period, the government will have to spend a total of Tk. 80,945 crore (about USD 8bn) to buy electricity from the plant. Speaking on the occasion as the chief guest, Dr Tawfique-e-Elahi Chowdhury, adviser for energy and power to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said, It was a complex project. Hence, it took more than four years to come up with project agreements and terminologies. The import of LNG, use of the requisite gas in the power plant and also sales of the remaining portion of the imported gas to the Bangladesh government were all part of Reliances initial plan, he said. Riva Ganguly Das, Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh, Abul Kalam Azad, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) coordinator, Abu Hena Mohammad Rahmatul Munim, TGTDCL chairman, and Khalid Mahmood, BPDB chairman, were present on the occasion. This is the first phase of the 3,000-MW power generation projects in Bangladesh proposed by the company. In 2015, Reliance inked an agreement with the BPDB, expressing its interest to install four gas-based power plants, each with a capacity of 750MW.