|
Dhaka: The proposed $3 billion (Dh11 billion) investment by Tata in Bangladesh hit a roadblock on Monday as the energy-starved nation asked the Indian conglomerate to revise its proposals in view of the country's dwindling gas reserves.
The Bangladeshi officials briefed Tata executives on the current 'resource scenario' when they resumed talks on Monday after nearly two years.
"We have told them about our resource situation including the gas reserves and the upcoming coal policy," Board of Investment (BoI) chief Kamaluddin Ahmad told newsmen after a nearly five-hour meeting with senior Tata officials.
The coal policy is expected to be released in two months. Though the official did not say when the next meeting would be held, he hinted that further talks will be largely based on the coal policy.
"The government informed us that the gas reserve was less than what we wished it to be," Tata Sons executive director Alan Rosling told reporters.
Rosling, however, said Tata could go ahead with its investment plans when the proposed coal policy would be announced.
Both sides had earlier provisionally agreed on a 10-year guarantee of 1.25 trillion cubic feet of gas and about 3 million tonnes of coal to Tata annually. It was also agreed that Tata would enjoy a 10-year tax holiday.
Tata had formally submitted a $2.5 billion investment proposal on April 2005 and later revised it to around $3 billion to set up a 1,000 MW power plant, a 420,000-tonne steel plant and a one million-tonne fertiliser unit.
|
