Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Group’s 718 MW natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant project on the outskirts of Dhaka has failed to make any significant progress in the past one year.
In September 2019, the Indian oil-to-telecom conglomerate signed agreements with the Bangladesh government to build, own and operate the power plant at Meghnaghat, some 40 km from Dhaka. August 2022 is the deadline for the project.
However, more than a year on, the project has seen barely 9% progress, an official document accessed by UNB has revealed.
Officials of the Reliance Group have attributed the project’s poor progress to the Covid pandemic and consequent lockdown, but expressed confidence of completing the remaining 91% work in less than two years.
“Due to Covid-19 lockdown, we had to suspend our work in March in compliance with the government’s directive,” said Ranjan Lohar, the CEO of Reliance Bangladesh LNG and Power Limited (RBLPL), a special purpose vehicle formed for execution of the project.
He, however, said that the pilling work of the project has now resumed. Reliance, Lohar said, also recently inked loan agreements with different financiers, including Asian Development Bank, for the project being developed on the banks of the Meghna River.
As per the agreements, the financing agencies will provide USD 642 million, of which USD 200 million will come from ADB, while Japan Bank for International Cooperation will give USD 265 million and Nippon Export and Investment the remaining USD 177 million.
Meanwhile, Reliance Power has also signed a joint venture agreement with JERA, a Japanese energy company, settling the share ratio at 51% for its own and 49% for the foreign investor.
The company has also signed an agreement with General Electric (GE), which is going to supply major equipment to the project, and appointed Samsung C&T as its Engineering, Procurement, & Construction (EPC) contractor to build the gas-fired power plant.
As per deal, the Meghnaghat power plant will be powered by two GE 9F gas turbines, one GE D11 steam turbine and three H53 generators.
