The High Court today directed the authorities not to proceed with the tender process for establishing a third LNG terminal (FSRU) at Maheshkhali in the Bay of Bengal until its further order.
The order follows a writ petition filed by Summit LNG Terminal II Co, which challenged the legality of the government's decision to terminate its agreement for the project. Report Daily Star
A High Court bench of Justice Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja issued the directive after issuing a rule on the matter on March 9.
The suspension of the tender will remain in effect until the court disposes of the rule.
A hearing is scheduled to take place after the court reopens on April 20 following its annual vacation.
The Attorney General's Office has been instructed to notify the relevant authorities of the order.
Respondents in the case include the secretaries of the Ministries of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, and Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, as well as the chairman of Petrobangla, according to Barrister Karishma Jahan, counsel for Summit LNG Terminal.
The dispute over the country's third floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) stems from a government notice issued in January, notifying Summit LNG Terminal that its agreement had been terminated due to alleged non-fulfilment of certain conditions, including the submission of a performance bond.
Summit, however, argues that the termination is invalid and that the company has already invested approximately $20 million in project implementation. The FSRU, planned to have a regasification capacity of 600 million standard cubic feet per day, would require an estimated $550 million in foreign direct investment.
Petrobangla contends that Summit failed to submit the performance bond in its own name, did not follow an agreed template, and missed the 90-day submission deadline.
However, Summit has countered that Petrobangla had already acknowledged receipt of the bond in the form of a bank guarantee and did not raise objections within the contractually mandated 30-day period.
When contacted, Additional Attorney General Mohammad Arshadur Rouf said the High Court had not issued a specific directive regarding the tender process.
However, he confirmed that he would inform the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources to refrain from proceeding with any tender while the rule remains pending.
