Petrobangla, Korean firms sign MoU on energy sector co-op today
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
M Azizur Rahman
The government signs a memorandum of understanding (MoU) today (Tuesday) with a Korean consortium of companies to ensure future cooperation in the country's energy sector, officials said Monday.
State-owned Petrobangla and the Korean consortium consisting Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), Korea Resource Corporation (Kores), Luxon Global and Posco will sign the MoU to enhance South Korean cooperation and involvement in the country's energy sector.
Petrobangla Chairman Jalal Ahmed and Luxon Global Company Ltd president Seung Youb Lee will sign the MoU on behalf of the respective sides.
"This will be a non-committal agreement and will not be involved with any particular project," Petrobangla chairman Jalal Ahmed told the FE.
He said under the MoU both the sides will agree on mutual cooperation in the country's energy sector.
The Korean companies are interested to set up a 1,000-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant, and carry out oil and gas exploration in onshore gas blocks, local agent of the Korean consortium Mouazzam Hossain told the FE.
He said the investment proposal of the Korean consortium has already been placed with the Board of Investment (BoI) for approval.
The Korean consortium intends to invest US$7.0 billion in different projects in the country's energy sector that include coalmine development, installation of fertiliser factory and undertake infrastructure development projects, Mr Hossain said.
The government, however, signed a similar MoU with the South Korean government and a consortium of five South Korean companies in November, 2007 to boost bilateral cooperation in energy sector.
The energy ministry of Bangladesh and the ministry of commerce, industry and energy (MOCIE) of South Korea signed the MoU.
The consortium of the South Korean companies during that time included Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Korea Resource Corporation (KORES), Daewoo International, Luxon Global and Posco.
Earlier, the Petrobangla signed another MoU with Thailand's state-run PTT Exploration and Production Company in September 2006 to enhance bilateral cooperation in the energy sector.
The Korean Luxan Global Company in July 2005 signed a MoU separately with the BoI to invest US$ 1.0 billion to develop coal mine, build a power plant, set up a fertiliser factory and undertake infrastructure development projects in Bangladesh.
As per the MoU the Luxon Global was interested to invest US$150 million for developing a coalmine, $350 million for a 350-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant and $150 million for a gas-based fertiliser plant with the production capacity of 300,000 tonnes.
The company also had planned to invest $200 million for development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and $150 million for infrastructure development projects like highways and bridges.
But apart from signing MoUs no significant headway was made regarding foreign direct investments (FDIs), a senior energy ministry official alleged.
The government signs a memorandum of understanding (MoU) today (Tuesday) with a Korean consortium of companies to ensure future cooperation in the country's energy sector, officials said Monday.
State-owned Petrobangla and the Korean consortium consisting Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), Korea Resource Corporation (Kores), Luxon Global and Posco will sign the MoU to enhance South Korean cooperation and involvement in the country's energy sector.
Petrobangla Chairman Jalal Ahmed and Luxon Global Company Ltd president Seung Youb Lee will sign the MoU on behalf of the respective sides.
"This will be a non-committal agreement and will not be involved with any particular project," Petrobangla chairman Jalal Ahmed told the FE.
He said under the MoU both the sides will agree on mutual cooperation in the country's energy sector.
The Korean companies are interested to set up a 1,000-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant, and carry out oil and gas exploration in onshore gas blocks, local agent of the Korean consortium Mouazzam Hossain told the FE.
He said the investment proposal of the Korean consortium has already been placed with the Board of Investment (BoI) for approval.
The Korean consortium intends to invest US$7.0 billion in different projects in the country's energy sector that include coalmine development, installation of fertiliser factory and undertake infrastructure development projects, Mr Hossain said.
The government, however, signed a similar MoU with the South Korean government and a consortium of five South Korean companies in November, 2007 to boost bilateral cooperation in energy sector.
The energy ministry of Bangladesh and the ministry of commerce, industry and energy (MOCIE) of South Korea signed the MoU.
The consortium of the South Korean companies during that time included Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Korea Resource Corporation (KORES), Daewoo International, Luxon Global and Posco.
Earlier, the Petrobangla signed another MoU with Thailand's state-run PTT Exploration and Production Company in September 2006 to enhance bilateral cooperation in the energy sector.
The Korean Luxan Global Company in July 2005 signed a MoU separately with the BoI to invest US$ 1.0 billion to develop coal mine, build a power plant, set up a fertiliser factory and undertake infrastructure development projects in Bangladesh.
As per the MoU the Luxon Global was interested to invest US$150 million for developing a coalmine, $350 million for a 350-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant and $150 million for a gas-based fertiliser plant with the production capacity of 300,000 tonnes.
The company also had planned to invest $200 million for development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and $150 million for infrastructure development projects like highways and bridges.
But apart from signing MoUs no significant headway was made regarding foreign direct investments (FDIs), a senior energy ministry official alleged.