Bangladesh's power sector has been mired in cronyism and kleptocracy, with one-sided deals signed under the 2010 special act draining nearly $1.5 billion annually, according to the National Review Committee formed by the interim government to investigate power contracts.
The committee recommended that the government renegotiate all one-sided agreements. It specifically urged initiating the cancellation process of the Adani Power deal, describing it as one of the most one-sided contracts signed during the previous regime.
The committee also said agreements approved during the Sheikh Hasina rule were designed to consolidate state power through manipulated procurement processes and flawed planning, resulting in massive financial losses for Bangladesh.
With around 9,500 megawatts of stranded generation capacity costing nearly $1.5 billion annually, the committee warned that only a comprehensive renegotiation of "one-sided" contracts could avert a looming fiscal crisis.
In a report released on 25 January, the committee said the country's power-sector distress was not the result of fuel price volatility or global shocks, but of "systematically engineered contracts" that overwhelmingly favored private investors at the public's expense.
