Adani, Reliance Power to build plants in Bangladesh

Sign MoUs to set up 4,600 Mw of generation capacity at a projected cost of $4.5 billion

Two leading Indian power firms — Adani Power and Reliance Power — would build several plants in Bangladesh to produce up to 4,600 Mw of electricity, to ease that country’s prolonged power crisis, a senior official said on Saturday.

Adani Power Ltd of India and Reliance Power Ltd of India on Saturday signed separate memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a two-day state visit to Bangladesh.

“Reliance Power and BPDB have signed an MoU to develop four units of power plants to produce 3,000 Mw of electricity, at a cost of $3 billion,” the company said in a statement. The plants will burn natural gas.

Adani Power will set up two coal-fired plants, with a total capacity of 1,600 Mw. These will cost more than $1.5 billion.

Officials of the companies said it would take 13 months to complete construction of the plants after final agreements had been reached.

“Discussions are going on to settle the details of the plants,” said Mohammad Saiful Islam, a director of BPDB. Bangladesh produces 7,000 Mw of electricity but demand far exceeds supply, with a daily deficit of up to 1,500 Mw.

The Bangladeshi government on Thursday unveiled a 2.95-trillion-taka ($38-billion) Budget for the financial year beginning July 1, stepping up spending on key sectors to tackle power shortages that are crimping economic growth and deterring investment.

Spending on development needs, such as power and transport, will rise about 40 per cent from the current financial year to 263 billion takas ($3.4 billion), Bangladesh Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith told Parliament, while the overall spending would increase 23 per cent in the year from July 1.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali had told journalists on Friday that Bangladesh also planned to more than double its electricity imports from India to 11,000 Mw by 2017 from 5,000 Mw at present.
BUILDING POWER

• Adani Power and Reliance Power have signed separate MoUs with Bangladesh Power Development Board to set up power utilities

1,600 Mw: Total capacity of the coal-fired plants to be set up by Adani Power

$1.5 billion: Projected cost of Adani’s plants
13 months: Duration for completion of construction of the plants
3,000 Mw: Total capacity of the four plants Reliance Power will set up in Bangladesh
$3 billion: Projected cost of Reliance Power’s plants