Body formed to negotiate power sale tariff with Powertek
Thursday, 13 November 2008
M Azizur Rahman
The power ministry has constituted a committee Wednesday to negotiate with the Powertek consortium, the preferred bidder for the construction of the 450-megawatt (MW) Bibiyana independent power project, over its offered power sales tariff, said officials.
The five-member committee, headed by the Power Cell director general Mohammad Abdul Jalil, will start negotiations from today (Thursday) and is set to conclude by next week.
"We will try to convince the Powertek consortium to further reduce its power tariff," the committee chief Mohammad Abdul Jalil told the FE Wednesday.
The other members of the committee includes high officials of Bangladesh Power Development Board, Military Institute of Science and Technology and the Power Cell.
The consortium, that consists of Malaysia's Powertek Berhad, Germany's Siemens and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), on October 23 this year offered the government a revised rate of US cents 4.39 per kilowatthour (KWh) from its original rate of US cents 4.53 per KWh to ensure its selection for the project.
But the Powertek's offer of the reduced tariff came at a time when the power ministry was already re-evaluating the original Powertek bid on the direction suggested by the council of advisers on government purchases.
A meeting of the council chaired by the finance and planning adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam in early October, directed the ministry to reassess the bid.
The power ministry has constituted a committee Wednesday to negotiate with the Powertek consortium, the preferred bidder for the construction of the 450-megawatt (MW) Bibiyana independent power project, over its offered power sales tariff, said officials.
The five-member committee, headed by the Power Cell director general Mohammad Abdul Jalil, will start negotiations from today (Thursday) and is set to conclude by next week.
"We will try to convince the Powertek consortium to further reduce its power tariff," the committee chief Mohammad Abdul Jalil told the FE Wednesday.
The other members of the committee includes high officials of Bangladesh Power Development Board, Military Institute of Science and Technology and the Power Cell.
The consortium, that consists of Malaysia's Powertek Berhad, Germany's Siemens and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), on October 23 this year offered the government a revised rate of US cents 4.39 per kilowatthour (KWh) from its original rate of US cents 4.53 per KWh to ensure its selection for the project.
But the Powertek's offer of the reduced tariff came at a time when the power ministry was already re-evaluating the original Powertek bid on the direction suggested by the council of advisers on government purchases.
A meeting of the council chaired by the finance and planning adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam in early October, directed the ministry to reassess the bid.