Govt to sign 41.2b yen credit deal with JBIC
Friday, 31 August 2007
FE Report
The government will soon sign a 41.2 billion yen credit deal with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for installing the Haripur 360-megawatt (MW) plant as the project got approval of the ECNEC Tuesday.
"The project approval by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) has paved the way for signing the proposed credit agreement with the JBIC," said an official said.
The official further said a credit deal on implementation of the Haripur power project will be signed between the Economic Relations Division (ERD) and the JBIC by the third week of September.
The government of Japan has already pledged the amount of soft credit for financing the 360MW capacity combined cycle power project in Haripur.
Of the total proposed credit, the JBIC will initially provide 17.76 billion yen according to its previous assurances while the remaining amount will be available in phases.
Terming the proposed credit one of the cheapest ODA (overseas development agency) loans for Bangladesh, official sources said it is expected to be available at a nominal rate (less than 1.0 per cent) of interest.
Besides, the proposed ODA loan would also be repayable in 40 years with a 10-year grace period, they mentioned.
Under the credit arrangement, the process to appoint a foreign consultant for the preparation of bidding documents for the proposed project has been undertaken, said an official.
Some consultancy firms have already been short-listed, they said, adding that one of them will be appointed soon after signing the credit pact.
A senior Power Division official said a consultancy firm will take over the responsibility of preparing the bid documents after the signing of the credit deal, said an official.
International tenders will also be invited for the power project immediately after the preparation of bid document is completed in February, 2008, the official noted.
"If everything goes according to plan, the proposed power plan is expected to go for generation by mid 2011," a senior Power Davison official said.
The government has taken up the 360MW Haripur power plant to boost the country's power generation capacity, aiming to cope with its growing shortfall in the medium term.
The government will soon sign a 41.2 billion yen credit deal with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for installing the Haripur 360-megawatt (MW) plant as the project got approval of the ECNEC Tuesday.
"The project approval by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) has paved the way for signing the proposed credit agreement with the JBIC," said an official said.
The official further said a credit deal on implementation of the Haripur power project will be signed between the Economic Relations Division (ERD) and the JBIC by the third week of September.
The government of Japan has already pledged the amount of soft credit for financing the 360MW capacity combined cycle power project in Haripur.
Of the total proposed credit, the JBIC will initially provide 17.76 billion yen according to its previous assurances while the remaining amount will be available in phases.
Terming the proposed credit one of the cheapest ODA (overseas development agency) loans for Bangladesh, official sources said it is expected to be available at a nominal rate (less than 1.0 per cent) of interest.
Besides, the proposed ODA loan would also be repayable in 40 years with a 10-year grace period, they mentioned.
Under the credit arrangement, the process to appoint a foreign consultant for the preparation of bidding documents for the proposed project has been undertaken, said an official.
Some consultancy firms have already been short-listed, they said, adding that one of them will be appointed soon after signing the credit pact.
A senior Power Division official said a consultancy firm will take over the responsibility of preparing the bid documents after the signing of the credit deal, said an official.
International tenders will also be invited for the power project immediately after the preparation of bid document is completed in February, 2008, the official noted.
"If everything goes according to plan, the proposed power plan is expected to go for generation by mid 2011," a senior Power Davison official said.
The government has taken up the 360MW Haripur power plant to boost the country's power generation capacity, aiming to cope with its growing shortfall in the medium term.