TIB for scrapping Adani power deal

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has urged the government to cancel the power deal Bangladesh signed with India’s Adani Power to buy 1,600 megawatts of electricity.

Terming the deal ‘unequal, opaque and discriminatory’, the anti-graft watchdog in a statement on Friday said, “If the power purchase agreement is executed, the country’s power sector could be held hostage to the controversial company.”

TIB suggested that experts of relevant sectors conduct a detailed analysis of the terms of the agreement and the government make amendments where applicable and cancel the deal, if necessary, for the sake of national interest.

It also said that the power sector could be held hostage to Adani Power, which is accused of share and accounting manipulation and fraud, if the deal is implemented.

TIB in the statement said according to news reports published in the national and international media, the electricity generated from the Adani power plant at Godda, Jharkhand, will cost almost three times more than the electricity generated in the country.

Apart from this, the power purchase agreement (PPA) has the obligation to buy power from Adani Power at high price, it said.

TIB Executive Director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman said, “The deal of PDB with Adani Power has been considered unequal and opaque in international reliable analysis and unprecedentedly discriminatory for Bangladesh.”

It seems that the agreement ignores the interests of Bangladesh and favours the interests of the Adani group in such a way that the electricity sector of Bangladesh can be held hostage to the group, the burden of which will have to be borne by the people of the country, he added.

Mentioning information revealed by international sources, including Australia-based Adani Watch, Dr Zaman said, “The coal used in the Godda power plant will come from disputed mines owned by Adani in Indonesia and Australia and by Adani ships, which will be unloaded at Adani-owned ports and transport will be done by Adani-owned railways.”

The generated electricity will be also transported in the transmission line built by the Adani, he said.

It is also known that Bangladesh will have to bear the cost of the entire process including energy costs, which is unprecedented in the experience of the global power sector. As a result, electricity supplied through the project will be charged at an unusually high rate compared to electricity from any other suppliers in the country, he said.

Similarly, Adani’s Godda project will have to pay capacity charges at an unacceptably high rate compared to any other projects undertaken by local and foreign ventures.

Dr Zaman also said, “Our appeal to PDB and policymakers of the government, all the terms and conditions of the deal should be revised after a thorough objective analysis involving national and internationally experts and if necessary, the deal should be canceled by giving the highest priority to the interests of the country and the people.”

There is no alternative but to resist the apparent conspiracy to turn Bangladesh into a sanctuary for Adani Group’s fraudulent business expansion by holding PDB and the people of the country hostage, he added.