The Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase (CCPP) on Wednesday approved 5 proposals of the Power Division-four for extension of contracts with 4 gas-based rental power plants and one for setting up a new independent power producer (IPP) plant.
Another 7 proposals of different departments under different ministries also received approval of the CCPA.
Besides, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave nod to another proposal of the Power Division for signing an unsolicited contract for operation and maintenance of a public sector power plant.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the consecutive meetings of the two cabinet bodies where their respective members were present.
The four rental power plants which got the cabinet body approval are 50 MW Kumargaon power plant, 50 MW Fenchuganj plant, 20 MW power plant in Bogura and 53 MW Ashuganj power plant.
About the approvals, the finance minister said that state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will purchase electricity from them on “No Power, No Payment ” basis for which the government will have no obligation to buy power from the plants.
Of these, the contract with Energy Prima Ltd.’s 50 MW plant in Kumargaon will get extension for another one year till December 31 in 2022 at a cost of Tk 86.52 crore while the same company’s contract for 50 MW power plant in Fenchuganj will be extended for 3 years at a cost of Tk 278.64 crore, contract for 20 MW Bogura plant will be extended for 3 years at a cost of Tk 106.92 crore and United Energy Ltd’s contract for 53 MW Fenchuganj plant will get extension for another 5 years at a cost of Tk 451.20 crore.
The contracts with these companies were extended several times in the past, said additional secretary to the Cabinet Division Shamsul Arefin adding that this time the contracts will be extended at a lower tariff than that of previous contracts.
For instance, he said Kumargaon power plant’s tariff was set at US 2.4691 Cents, equivalent to Tk 1.97 in the new contract while it was US 3.4737 Cents in the previous contract.
Source: United News of Bangladesh