Trackback URL
Download PDF The cabinet’s purchase committee yesterday approved three costly skid and barge-mount power projects — all proposed by alliance government’s close business ally Hosaf group and CMC, its Chinese partner of Barapukuria coalmine and power projects.
The Hosaf-CMC consortium proposed power rental to the government from 20-megawatt (MW) skid-mount power plant in Barabkundu, Chittagong, 20MW skid-mount plant in Feni, Noakhali and 50MW barge-mount plant in Baghabari, Sirajganj.
This clearance will now follow signing of a power rental agreement between Hosaf-CMC and the power authorities concerned.
Sources said the plants will use gas to generate power and the tariff will be Tk 2.66 to 3.01 per kilowatt hour or a unit. For the 20MW Barabkundu plant the tariff will be Tk 2.66, for the 20MW Feni plant Tk 2.73 and for the Baghabari plant Tk 2.76
For the Power Development Board (PDB), purchasing power at any rate above Tk 2.5 per unit is net loss.
None of the skid-mount and barge-mount projects okayed by the alliance government in the last few months fits into the country’s existing policy for Independent Power Project (IPP) under which all other private power companies operate, the sources said.
The PDB earlier this month signed two costly power rental agreements for skid-mount power projects in Bogra and Fenchuganj — both to be run by ruling party men. But at the same time, the government refrained from signing two lesser costly power rental agreement for skid-mount projects, which were not backed by any ruling party men.
The Bogra 20MW plant is being installed by the GBB, a company owned by leaders of the “alternative powerhouse” of the BNP. The Fenchuganj 50MW plant is being installed by Ornate, owned by a son of a very powerful minister. The power tariff of these two plants will be around Tk 2.75 to Tk 3 per unit.
The Bogra and Fenchuganj plants will start operation late next year. The Hosaf-CMC plants will also take a year to install, once the final agreement with the government is signed.
Following yesterday’s approval of the Hosaf-CMC proposals, Chairman of the cabinet’s purchase committee and Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman told the press the purchase committee takes its decisions based on the recommendations of the tendering committees of the authorities concerned.
“The purchase committee in the last five years has not been involved with violation of the government policy at its level. All our decisions were based on the tendering committee recommendations. At our level, we check and cross-check the facts and proposals given to us before reaching our decision. And if there are any deviations within a proposal that we have approved, the onus goes to the tendering committee,” he said.
“We are not auditors,” Saifur Rahman pointed out.
The purchase committee meeting yesterday also approved procurement of 19,000 family planning kits for the health ministry.
June 21st, 2008 at 9:19 am
[...] [...]