Govt set to drop joint venture policy
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
M Azizur Rahman
The government is set to drop a joint venture policy to engage private foreign and local firms for developing the country's ailing energy sector in partnership with the state-owned entities, officials said Tuesday.
It now thinks the already adopted Public Private Partnership (PPP) guideline would fit the purpose of the policy to develop the energy sector jointly with foreign or local firms.
The energy ministry would decide within weeks the fate of the joint venture policy readied by the caretaker government two years ago, a senior energy ministry official told the FE.
The caretaker government had moved forward with the policy in 2008 aiming to woo the competent global firms to work in partnership with less capable state-run energy companies to develop jointly the much-needed energy projects.
Developing coal mines, building petroleum refinery, setting up liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and exploring oil and gas were among the key sectors the government had targeted to implement under the proposed joint venture policy.
Initially the development of the Petrobangla-owned Dighhipara coal mine in northern region was in focal point, said a senior Petrobangla official.
The policy drafted by Petrobangla styled, 'joint venture policy for private sector participation in energy sector of Bangladesh," recommended empowering the energy ministry to approve relevant development projects worth up to US$50 million outside the purview of public procurement regulations (PPR).
The government is set to drop a joint venture policy to engage private foreign and local firms for developing the country's ailing energy sector in partnership with the state-owned entities, officials said Tuesday.
It now thinks the already adopted Public Private Partnership (PPP) guideline would fit the purpose of the policy to develop the energy sector jointly with foreign or local firms.
The energy ministry would decide within weeks the fate of the joint venture policy readied by the caretaker government two years ago, a senior energy ministry official told the FE.
The caretaker government had moved forward with the policy in 2008 aiming to woo the competent global firms to work in partnership with less capable state-run energy companies to develop jointly the much-needed energy projects.
Developing coal mines, building petroleum refinery, setting up liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and exploring oil and gas were among the key sectors the government had targeted to implement under the proposed joint venture policy.
Initially the development of the Petrobangla-owned Dighhipara coal mine in northern region was in focal point, said a senior Petrobangla official.
The policy drafted by Petrobangla styled, 'joint venture policy for private sector participation in energy sector of Bangladesh," recommended empowering the energy ministry to approve relevant development projects worth up to US$50 million outside the purview of public procurement regulations (PPR).