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Sirajganj power project put back on bidding track

Staff Correspondent
The 450-megawatt Sirajganj power project the government cancelled in June at its final stage saw its revival yesterday, as four bidders submitted their proposals to pre-qualify in the scheme.
However, the project cost this time is likely to increase because of depreciation of dollar against most other currencies, industry insiders apprehend. "The cost may rise by 30 to 35 percent compared to the cancelled previous proposal," one of the
bidders told The Daily Star.
Besides high oil and steel prices, higher interest rates have also made the power plant installation costlier than ayear ago, he added.
Bangladeshi Summit group, which had won the previous bid with a groundbreaking price and had brought in a number of financiers, has again submitted a proposal. German company Siemens and Transnational Electricity Co. stand as its partners.
Another Bangladeshi company— the PHP group — has submitted a proposal along with Indian power company Essar.
Tnc two other bidders are: British investment company Globaleq, which has taken over the 450mm Meghna Ghat Power Project from AES, and Malaysian company Gen ting Berhad.
Power Cell, the implementing authority of the Ministry of Power, will determine the bids within two months and then ask for detailed proposals from the selected company. The Power Cell wants implementation of the project by2007.
Earlier, a tender for the Sirajganj power project was floated in mid 2003 and Summit was selected as the lone bidder.
Summit's offer asked for a 22-year level ised power tariff of US cents 2.7895 per kilowatt-hour or unit, which was then one of the
lowest tariff among all other power projects in the country. Summit also got commitments of $186 million from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB).
But the government cancelled the bid, though it got the nod from the Cabinet Purchase Committee and the energy ministry. The government explained there was lack of competition, but sources said it was cancelled because the chief of the Summit group is the brother of an Awami League lawmaker.
The cancellation drew flak from the donors who felt the Summit proposal was transparent and there was no justification for putting down a good bid.
The power division targets settingup enough power plants to meet the demand of over 6,000mw in 2007. Currently, the country generates around 3,500mwof electricity.