Underling the need for putting an end to hartal culture, Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Wednesday
said hartal becomes harmful for the national when it turns violent.“So, hartal has to be given a good bye for the sake of national interest,” he said urging all to launch a
campaign against hartal in the national interest.
The Finance Minister was addressing a deal-signing ceremony at Bidyut Bhaban in the city.
Muhith also criticised the attack on a power substation at Kansat in Chapainawabganj during a recent
hartal. “Such attack can’t be acceptable,” he said adding that hartal impedes the economic growth most.
At the function, state-owned Power Development Board (PDB) signed a 22-year deal with Kushiara
Power Company Ltd to purchase electricity from a 163-MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant to be
set up in Fenchuganj of Sylhet region.
Sources said both sides signed only power purchase agreement (PPA) at the function, not the
implementation agreement (IA).
Prime Minister’s Energy Advisor Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, State Minister for Power and Energy
Mohammad Enamul Haque, Power Secretary Monwar Islam and Fenchuganj’s local MP Abdus Samad,
also attended the function. The local MP is learnt to be one of the owners of the power plant.
PDB Secretary Azizul Islam and Kushiara Power’s Managing Director Farzana Chowdhury signed the
contract.
The Kushiara Power Company is a special purpose business entity of Consortium of China-based SNPC
Power and Kushiara DBPL which will set up the power plant as an independent power producer (IPP) to
run it on build-own-operate (BOO) basis.
The PDB will purchase electricity from the plant at 2.761 US cent (equivalent to Tk 2.01) per kilowatt
hour (each unit).
As per the proposed deal, the Kushiara Power Company will set up simple cycle unit (109 MW) of the
plant within next 18 months from the signing of the contract while the combined cycle unit will have to
be installed by the next 22 months. This means the private sponsor company will have an obligation to
start commercial production of the plant by January in 2015.
Kushiara Power Company’s project director Mahmud Hossain Khan informed that the company plans to
invest US$ 150 million for the project in which 20 percent equity will be provided by the local firm and
its Chinese partner while the rest of the money will be coming as credit from a Chinese bank.
The company will have to complete the financial closing by six months with additional extension period
of three months.
The PDB invited tender for the project in 2011 and eight bidders took part in the bidding process from
which the Kushiara was picked up as the selected responsive bidder. UNB
Related Posts
