Sought quick payment of dues from Bangladesh: Adani

India’s Adani Group said it has assured Bangladesh of uninterrupted power supply and also requested the interim government to expedite payment of dues, people aware of the development told India’s Moneycontrol portal.
“The group has requested Bangladesh’s interim government to expedite the payment of dues,” one of the sources was quoted as saying by the portal.
“The group has communicated to the Bangladesh government that it faces mounting pressure from lenders for repayment of debt incurred in building the plant and expressed hope that the payments will be cleared soon, along with the accruing interest due to the delay,” the person said.
An email sent to the Adani Group spokesperson has remained unanswered when the article was published this afternoon, the Moneycontrol report said.
Adani Power’s 1,600MW Godda plant in Jharkhand has a 100 percent supply contract with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), with an average monthly billing of $90 to $100 million, according to the portal.
The company signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the BPDB in November 2017 during the tenure of the now ousted Hasina-led government, to supply 1,496 megawatts (MW) from the plant, which is around 10 percent of the country’s peak power demand.
In an investor call on May 2, after Adani Power’s March quarter earnings, Shailesh Sawa, group head of regulatory engagement at Adani Power, said the Bangladesh utility’s outstanding dues, which were accrued under the previous government, were close to $400 million, or about four months of dues.