Reliance Group of India on Wednesday was awarded with a deal without any tender for setting up a liquefied natural gas-based 750 megawatt power plant at Meghnaghat in Narayanganj.
The cabinet committee on national purchase awarded the deal to the leading Indian conglomerate at a meeting at the secretariat which would allow Indian company to sell per unit of electricity at Tk 5.80 to the state-owned Power Development Board.
The deal would cost cash-starved PDB Tk 80,945.41 crore in 22 years.
According to the proposal submitted by the power division before the national purchase committee, PDB would buy electricity for 22 years after commissioning of the plant scheduled in 2019.
Additional secretary Mustafizur Rahman told reporters after the meeting that PDB would now sign power purchase agreement with Reliance Group.
Power division officials said the government has waived Reliance from paying income tax out of its income from the power sales.
They said the 750mw power plant at Meghnaghat is one of three power plants Reliance Group proposed to set up to produce 3000mw electricity.
Two other proposed power plants would be set up in Chittagong and Maheshkhali.
Reliance Group will rely on imported LNG to be unloaded at the proposed LNG terminal to be built by the group.
It has estimated a cost of $2.35 billion for setting up the power plants and the LNG terminal.
The state-run Petrobangla and the Gas Transmission Co Ltd will build gas pipeline from Maheskhali to Meghnaghat with its own fund to supply gas to the power plant.
The cabinet committee on national purchase meeting presided over by finance minister AMA Muhith also approved other proposals including cost hike for implementing the Khulna-Mongla rail-line project at Tk 10.62 crore.
Mustafizur Rahman said the additional money would be spent to pay the higher cost of consultancy for the project which is to be implemented with one billion dollar credit line from India. Earlier the consultancy fee for the project was estimated at Tk 30.33 crore.
Other notable projects approved at the meeting are purchase of paper for publishing books at a cost of Tk 161.95 crore and establishment of two 20-storey buildings and a 16-storey building at a cost of Tk 511.47 crore under the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project.