Reliance Power Signs Joint Venture Deal With Japan’s JERA For Bangladesh Plant

Reliance Power Ltd. has signed a joiint venture deal with Japan’s JERA Co. Inc. to set up a 750 megawatt, gas-based power plant at Meghnaghat, Bangladesh.

Reliance Power will hold 51 percent stake in the joint venture, while JERA will hold 49 percent stake, the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group company said in a statement on Tuesday. The deal will reduce Reliance Power’s debt by Rs 835 crore, payable to US-Exim Bank. The project agreements were signed with Bangladesh authorities Sunday.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bangladesh visit in June 2015, Reliance Power had signed a memorandum of understanding for setting up a 3,000 MW gas-based, combined-cycle power project in phases in Bangladesh.

The project agreements include power purchase agreement and land lease contract Bangladesh Power Development Board for the power project, Gas Supply Agreement with Titas Gas, a subsidiary of Petrobangla, for the supply of gas to the power project, and implementation agreement with Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.

The project will be set up within 36 months of signing the agreements, it said.

"This joint venture project will give a tremendous boost to the economic and industrial growth of Bangladesh and will enhance the energy security of the country with clean, green and reliable LNG-based power. We are excited to be part of the growth story of Bangladesh in partnership with JERA," Ambani said in the statement.

"It is our great honour to participate in the largest IPP in Bangladesh. Together with Reliance Power, JERA will realize a stable power supply and contribute to sustainable economic growth in Bangladesh,” said JERA President Satoshi Onoda.

The project will be the largest foreign direct investment in Bangladesh’s power sector and shall cater to the country's rising needs for power, contributing to the country’s goal of energy security, the statement read.

Reliance Power will relocate one module of its equipment from its power project at Samalkot, Andhra Pradesh, for Phase-I of the Bangladesh project.