The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), one of Bangladesh's major development partners, yesterday wanted to know about the caretaker government's position regarding Tk 4,000 crore investments of Tata and Asia Energy.

Visiting ADB's South Asia Department Director General Kunio Senga wanted to know this during a meeting with Finance and Planning Adviser Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam at the later's Planning Commission office in the city yesterday morning.

After the meeting, the Finance Adviser told reporters that the government's indecision regarding the investment proposals of Asia Energy and Indian giant Tata was giving a wrong signal to foreign investors about investment in Bangladesh.

"We're sending a wrong signal to foreign investors by making delay in giving decisions regarding the investment proposals of Asia Energy and Tata," he said. "We're neither saying 'yes,' nor 'no' about the investment proposals of Tata and Asia Energy."

About Asia Energy, the Finance Adviser said the government is now formulating a coal policy and the issue with the Asia Energy would be discussed after the approval of the coal policy.

Dr Islam said the Asia Energy in a leter to the government recently has expressed its willingness to start renegotiations of the terms of the contract on Phulbari Coal Mine Project in Dinajpur.

"We'll go for renegotiation of the contract with Asia Energy after the finalisation of the National Coal Policy," he said.

About the much-talked-about Tata's US$3 billion investment proposal, Dr Islam said it is a complicated mater and the gas reserve issue is intimately related with the proposal. "As the terms and conditions have a clause to provide uninterrupted gas supply for several years, we'll have to assess our actual gas reserve as there are several findings in this regard, and we're not sure which one is correct," he said.

Tata's investment proposals include a 1,000 megawat gas-fired power plant and a 500 megawat coal-fired power plant Also on the cards is a fertiliser plant with a one million ton a year capacity and a 2.4 million ton steel mill at Ishwardi. The Indian business conglomerate's proposal remains unresolved for over two years.

Regarding the flood damages, the Finance Adviser also told reporters that according to a rough estimate the flood damages would be within US$ 200 to US$ 250 million.

"We hope that Bangladesh will receive a large portion of the flood rehabilitation assistance from the ADB, while the remaining part to be managed from domestic resources," he said.

However, Kunio Senga said the ADB is yet to start its needs assessment to help Bangladesh in its flood rehabilitation works although the Wold Bank is going to disburse US$ 75 million soon in this regard.

"After Bangladesh's Finance Adviser's visit to Manila, we realised that the flood in Bangladesh was severe and we formed a team for needs assessment," Senga told newsmen after his meeting with the Finance Adviser.

Senga admited that they did not give enough atention to the recent flood in Bangladesh and its devastation. "Hopefully, we'll be able to provide assistance for flood rehabilitation," he said without mentioning the amount of their assistance.

The Finance Adviser told the reporters that the government has also formed a commitee with the Planning Secretary as its head to assess the damages caused by the devastating flood.

At the meeting, the ADB team also discussed maters relating to the country's ICT, energy and power sectors. "The investment issue of

Tata and Asia Energy also came up at the meeting for discussion," the Adviser said.

ADB Country Director Hua Du was also present at the meeting.