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PROPOSED MEGHNAGHAT-3 POWER PROJECT

Move for unsolicited deal avoiding tender

Law ministry's legal opinion sought

SHARIER KHAN
Contrary to the impression given by the state minister for power late last month that the proposed Meghnaghat-3 450 megawatt power project will be processed through open tender, the ministry last week sought the law ministry's legal opinion for an unsolicited deal for it with a US-Irish joint venture.
In the absence of proper policy support, the ministry is now trying to put this unsolicited deal under the private sector infrastructure guideline instead of using the private power policy, which the government applied so far to process different power projects with 1,290 mw generation capacity.
On April 25, state minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud faced strong criticism from members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy, Power and Mineral Resources at its meeting for allow-
ing a secretive deal with US-Irish company Cadogan Manning violating the government's policy.
Committee members told the press that Iqbal promised them the Meghnaghat-3 project would go to open tender.
But the state minister now says the committee members did not understand him properly, and the unsolicited negotiation with Cadogan Manning is on 'in accordance with the Private Power Policy (PPP)'.
"There is provision to undertake unsolicited project," Iqbal told The Daily Star. "The provision allows the government to do so if necessary."
But the PPP does not allow unsolicited bid, which can lead to corruption and unfair terms for the nation. The Cadogan Manning proposal, being processed by the Power Cell, is flawed in several areas including power tariff and conditional bid bond.
Some powerful officials of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), backing the unsolicited deal, have already hammered the firing of the Power Cell director general and transfer of its technical director. Both had angered the PMO officials by giving fair opinion about this shady negotiation.
Due to lack of policy support for this project, the power ministry has now resorted to another policy, Bangladesh Private Sector Infrastructure Guidelines (BPSIG).
Earlier this week, the power ministry wrote a letter to the law ministry stating that on March 24, the Cadogan Manning Group submitted a proposal for a 500 mw (or 450 mw) combined cycle power plant. The developers will start generating 360 mw power through simple cycle operation from 'November 30', 2006 and go for full operation in January-March, 2007.
The letter says the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Cadogan Manning will be signed on May 15.
The power ministry notes that in 1996, the government introduced the Private Sector Power Generation Policy and claims that the policy accommodates both solicited and unsolicited proposals. But, it mentions, so far the government has permitted different power projects with 1,290 mw capacity through 'solicitation'.
When the ministry sought Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's decision, she okayed it saying it should be implemented as per the 'existing policy' immediately.
The letter says, "That guideline (BPSIG) includes the rule to process unsolicited proposal. Accordingly, if that unsolicited proposal is found satisfactory, the proposal has to be presented to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs through the Private Infrastructure Committee."
The letter also notes that the infrastructure guideline and power policy have opposing methodology in processing unsolicited proposals. The letter claims that the guideline did not 'overrule' the power policy's method of processing unsolicited deals.
But the ministry, in its letter, admits it is not clear whether there will be any legal problems in processing the power project under the infrastructure guideline instead of the private power policy. Therefore, the ministry sought the law ministry's opinion on the matter.
The Cadogan-Manning bid, pushed by some businessmen close to an 'alternative centre of power', was offering a conditional bid bond which is conventionally considered unacceptable. The bid also lacked the standard format and its pricing formula is also full of loopholes.
"There is nothing wrong with the private power policy. We have done six to seven projects under it. What it does not allow is unfair deals, kickbacks and nepotism," said an official of the power ministry.