Staff Reporter :
India’s Adani Group has assured Bangladesh of an uninterrupted power supply while also requesting the country’s interim government to expedite the payment of outstanding dues, according to sources cited by India’s Moneycontrol portal.
“The group has requested Bangladesh’s interim government to expedite the payment of dues,” one source said yesterday.
The report stated that Adani Group has informed the Bangladesh government of mounting pressure from its lenders to repay the debt incurred in constructing the power plant.
The company expressed hope that the payments, along with interest accruing due to the delays, would be cleared soon.
An email sent to the Adani Group spokesperson remained unanswered as of Friday afternoon, according to the *Moneycontrol* report.
Adani Power’s 1,600MW Godda thermal plant in Jharkhand, a $2 billion project, has a 100 per cent supply contract with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). The plant’s average monthly billing amounts to $90 to $100 million.
The company had signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the BPDB in November 2017, during the tenure of the now-ousted Sheikh Hasina-led government, to supply 1,496 megawatts (MW) of electricity. This figure represents approximately 10 per cent of Bangladesh’s peak power demand.
During an investor call on May 2, following Adani Power’s March quarter earnings, Shailesh Sawa, Group Head of Regulatory Engagement at Adani Power, revealed that Bangladesh’s utility provider’s outstanding dues, accumulated under the previous government, were close to $400 million, or approximately four months of overdue payments.