The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The move to set up two large power plants at Bibiyana and Sirajganj on top priority basis is likely to go awry as some pre-qualified bidders formed a monopolistic consortium for bidding, while others are showing little interest in the projects due to Power Cell's policies.

Malaysia-based Powertek Company has joined hands with Korean Kepco and Siemens Project Ventures and has already informed the Power Cell of the Energy and Power Ministry of their intention to participate in the bid as a consortium.

Sources in the industry said as a result of this new move by the Malaysian company, there would be virtually no competitiveness in the bidding for the two large power plants, up to 450 Megawatt each, being planned to meet the fast growing demand for electricity across the country.

The country has now a total capacity of producing nearly 4,000 MW, but the demand for electricity is growing fast taking into consideration its burgeoning industrial sector, electricity needs for irrigation and expanding urban construction sector.

AES, which had earlier set up two large power plants with the aggregate capacity of 450 MW at Meghnaghat and 360 MW at Haripur, appears to have lost interest on bidding for Bibiyana and Sirajganj, sources indicated citing that the AES team did not even visit the Bibiyana site before leaving the country recently.

The situation with regard to the two proposed power plants at Bibiyana and Sirajganj may further become complex and troublesome as another potential bidder, which was declared unqualified for bidding on 'flimsy grounds', is contemplating to take their case to court, energy experts added.

Such litigation, observers feared, might delay the implementation of the two projects, which usually takes two to three years to put in place a large land-based power plant.

The said potential bidder, Summit Industrial and Mercantile Corporation (SIMC) in partnership with GE Llc had applied for pre-qualification but was made unqualified citing some minor shortcomings in its application.

The Summit Power has requested the Power Cell to review its decision and make the company qualified for bidding for the proposed power plants on the basis of its latest submitted papers.

Industry observers said Summit has a proven track record, having put in place on a fast-track basis the first barge-mounted power plant and a number of other smaller generation units across the country totaling 230 MW.