21 foreign cos vie for job

As many as 21 foreign power companies yesterday submitted technical qualification documents in a large power plant tender floated by the Ashuganj Power Company (APC).

The high participation has pleasantly surprised officials concerned who had feared poor response due to the recent terror attacks as well as a general slowdown in implementation of power projects in the country.

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It showed Bangladesh still enjoys bidders' confidence, they observed.

The APC floated the tender to construct a 400 megawatt gas-based power plant in Ashuganj East. Officials noted that natural gas was available for this power project, although gas supply is facing constraints elsewhere.

The project is being financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The participating companies are Spanish Isolux and Egyptian Orascom, Chinese CAMC, Korean Samsung, Korean Posco, Daewoo and Hyundai, China Tianchen Engineering, Chinese DF & Dongpeng, Indian L&T, Chinese CMEC and Indian NEPC, Korean Daewoo E&C, Korean Lotte, Spanish Acciona & Metca, Spanish Technicas Reunidas, Cgubese SEC and Soabusg Absakdo, Chinese Sepco, China National Electric Engineering Co and Guangdong, Chinese Harbin and Etern, Indian Essar and German BJN Group, Turkish Enka, Sri Lankan LTL Holding, Chinese CNTIC and CCOEC and Indian, Saudi and Irish joint venture Alfalfa Power Machine and Sanhanan.

The APC would qualify the bidders through an evaluation. After that the bidders submit their financial proposal for engineering, procurement and construction.

Such a bid for construction of a large power plant is taking place after more than a year.

In June, Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) floated a tender for construction of 10 heavy fuel-oil (HFO)-based private power plants of 100MW capacity each. As many as 42 local companies submitted bids to qualify for these projects.

It was surprising for most power companies as the country has rolled out around a dozen coal-fired large private power projects. The HFO-based plants are costly and usually built as a short-term solution.

According to the BPDB, these power plants will be built in Bagerhat, Bogra, Chandpur, Chowmuhani, Feni, Jamalpur, Meghnaghat, Rangpur, Shantahar and Thakurgaon.