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In the past, Bangladesh had to go to the international court to cancel a deal with Niko, she said, adding that the interim government has to spend a lot of time in damage control.

“Some projects have been implemented, and the debt burden is huge…. The responsibility for dealing with the consequences of unfair agreements and exorbitant costs is on the government.”

Prof M Tamim, former adviser to a caretaker government, said a party that cancels a power deal often has to pay a fine of US $8 to $12 billion.

“There are long-term agreements here. Breaking them before the term ends will lead to legal complications and penalties,” he said, adding that the power sector transformation must be approached cautiously with proper planning.

The three-day-long conference is organised by Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development, a coalition of several NGOs.