Guideline for corporatisation of PDB to be ready in April

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S M Jahangir
The process of bringing about major structural reforms in the power sector will gather a renewed momentum with experts recommending a broad-based corporatisation guideline for the largest state-owned entity - the BPDB - to the government next month, officials said.
"Foreign consultants will place their revised guideline for corporatisation of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) by April, which will pave the way for bringing about major structural changes in the state-run power companies," a senior Power Division official said Wednesday.
Although the foreign consultant firm presented their major findings on the proposed BPDB corporatisation guideline, the Power Division had differed with some crucial issues that the experts have proposed in their draft outline," an official said, adding that it also asked the consultant to review those issues.
Among the major issues, a major disagreement has surfaced over the BPDB organogram suggested by the experts of a New Zealand-based P A Consulting Firm.
"The experts suggested that the total manpower strengthen for the BPDB should be less than hundred as against its existing workforce of nearly 6000," said an official.
The Power Division has also differed with some other proposals, including the future operational aspects of the BPDB," another official said without elaborating.
Officials expressed their hope that the revised BPDB corporatisation guideline would be more 'comprehensive' and 'well accepted than the initial one.
In their initial findings, experts prescribed for the transformation of the BPDB into a holding company, transferring all people, assets and liabilities to it.
Besides, the PDB would be the owning holding company for other corporate entities under the power sector, they suggested.