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Home › Dodgy Deals ›
Dodgy Deal
Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company LimitedBangladesh

Company – On record

This profile is no longer actively maintained, with the information now possibly out of date
Lead organisation:
BankTrack
Contact:

Catalina von Hildebrand

Last update: 2016-11-01 14:56:34

Company – On record

This profile is no longer actively maintained, with the information now possibly out of date
Lead organisation:
BankTrack
Contact:

Catalina von Hildebrand

Last update: 2016-11-01 14:56:34
Why this profile?
About
Sectors Coal Electric Power Generation
Headquarters
Ownership

BIFPCL is a private company limited by shares and incorporated under a Joint Venture Agreement executed on 29 January 2012 between Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and NTPC Limited (NTPC) with equal equity participation of BPDB and NTPC.    

Subsidiaries
Website https://bifpcl.com

The Company

Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (Pvt.) Limited (BIFPCL/the Company) is a Joint Venture Company duly incorporated in Bangladesh under the Companies Act 1994 and was registered with the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC), Dhaka, Bangladesh on 31 October 2012 vide the Certificate of Incorporation with Registration No. C-105370/12.

Main Objectives :
The main objectives for which the Company has been established are -

  • To design, engineer, manufacture, insure finance, acquire, construct, complete, permit, test, commission, own, operate and maintain thermal power projects;
  • To undertake, wherever necessary the construction of transmission lines and ancillary works for timely and coordinated exchange of electric power; and
  • To carry on the business of purchasing, selling, importing, exporting, producing, trading, manufacturing or otherwise dealing in all aspects of electric power; and
  • To set-up, operate and manage all necessary plants, establishments and works in other allied industries.
Impacts

Social and human rights impacts

The proposed 1320 MW power plant project will cause irreparable damage to the livelihoods of 500,000 inhabitants depending on the Sundarbans; most rely on agriculture and shrimp cultivation, and fishing. All these livelihoods come under threat as the support infrastructure of the Rampal power plant has already been built.

The authorities in charge acquired the land necessary for the proposed coal plant before doing the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and getting the site clearance certificate from the Department of Environment (DoE). Local inhabitants were displaced in a very improper and dubious manner, without prior informed consent.

The most deadly impact will be on fisheries. The plant will discharge toxic water in the Passur River, and oil and chemical wastes from coal-carrying vessels will also contaminate the water. Mangrove-supported habitat will also suffer, and shrimp farms and homestead fishponds will be no exception.

In total 95 percent of the land acquired is agricultural land. The production of crops will be decreased down to zero as study shows that the fertility will start to reduce drastically as a result of coal related pollution from the very beginning of the plant operation.

The power plant will reduce the livestock grazing area, and the wastes from coal such as fly ashes and bottom ashes will contaminate air and water. This will make the livestock vulnerable to diseases and will affect the income level of households and farms simultaneously.

The air, odour and sound pollution will affect local inhabitants and cattle so badly that it will be hardly possible for people to live and cultivate. The inhabitants´ health is also likely to deteriorate.

The damage caused by installing and industrial site so close to the Sundarbans will leave the South Western coast of Bangladesh vulnerable to storm, cyclone, and other natural disasters.

The government displaced the local people, in many cases, without consent. The police and local thugs were involved in the process of forcefully displacing particularly the Hindu minority community from their homesteads. It is unclear whether the government properly compensated the landowners. "Long Live Sundarban" documentary depicts this aspect of human rights violation of the local people.    

In the rural society of Bangladesh, women are the main agents for ensuring long-term survival and bondage of a family. They are also the major bread earners of many families. As the livelihood or home of a family gets threatened, women become the first victims to suffer and struggle to keep their families go on.    


Environmental and climate impacts

The Sundarbans are spread over the territory of Bangladesh and India. As the single largest mangrove forest in the world the area is extraordinarily rich in biodiversity. In 1997 UNESCO officially declared it a World Heritage site. The forest has shrunk down to one third of its size, now covering an area of 1,874 km².

The importance and vulnerability of the Sundarbans is often contrasted with the mass destruction and the process of deception brought by the Rampal 2x660 MW coal fired power plant planned 14km from the mangrove forest. Different scientific researchers focused on the impact of the coal-fired power plant on of the mangrove forest, they all reached the same conclusion: the impact of the proposed coal fired power plant will be negative, irreversible and cannot be mitigated in any way.

An alternative Environmental Impact Assessment deems the project unsuitable economically, socially, physically and environmentally. The research shows that climate, topography, land use pattern, air and water (both surface and ground) quality, wetlands, floral and faunal diversity, capture fisheries and tourism will be affected permanently due to the proposed coal fired power plant. Additionally, it will increase water logging conditions, river erosion, noise pollution and health hazards; decrease of ground water table; loss of culture fisheries, loss of social forestry and major destruction of agriculture.

According to the official Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed coal pant the enormous amount of hot water discharged daily to the Passur river, for at least 25 years, will severely pollute the water systems of the Sundarbans region and disturb fish migration and breeding due. Similarly the ashes emitted by the coal plant include hazardous chemicals such as lead, mercury, arsenic, radium, and sulfur. These gases will be spread out by wind and affect the people, trees, soil and livestock, extensively decrease land fertility and production over time. 

Additionally, navigational vessels that will be traveling up and down the Passur river for coal transportation will also alter the ecosystem. Given the history of oil, fertilizer, coal vessels sinking in the rivers of Sundarbans, there is room for concern. These will most certainly harm the fragile ecosystem of the Sundarbans. And thus the people, the tigers, the dolphins, the turtles, the fish, the mangrove and the innumerable crucial organisms that keep the Sundarbans alive.

Moreover, the EIA document has many shortcomings, it remains very vague on many issues such as dealing of Possur River, zero discharge policy, mentioning the Sundarban as residential area and village rather than ‘environmentally sensitive area', millions of tons of fly ash and bottom ash issues, health hazards, dangerous waste management policy, coal transportation, among others.


Other impacts

NTPC's involvement in the power plant project of Bangladesh is more motivated by the commercial interest than by its own legal and ethical guidelines they follow while implementing such projects in India. According to the guideline of Indian Environment and Forest Ministry, it is not permitted to set up any such plant within 25 km vicinity of any protected forest. 

In Bangladesh, the government persistently endorses the Rampal power plant as if there was no other option than the Rampal plant just beside the Sundarbans. No alternatives  are put forward to mitigate the power crisis.

There is a great imbalance in the gains and losses the Rampal project brings. The Bangladeshi cost of environmental degradation and loss of livelihoods will not necesarily be made even by a country-wide economic gain. Eventually if we want to see who is going to benefit from the economic growth, it is only those who can afford to pay for electricity.

Financiers
Institution type
Finance type
Year
Projects

Rampal coal power plant

Bangladesh
Project
Active
Coal Electric Power Generation

Rampal coal power plant

Bangladesh
There are no active project profiles for Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Limited now.
News
BankTrack
Partners
Blog
External
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

A new power plant could devastate the world’s largest mangrove forest

2016-07-18 | The Washington Post
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

We must save Sundarbans: Big mistake for India

2016-07-16 | New Nation
private BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Oil-gas committee for holding referendum over Rampal power plant

Link does not work
2016-07-16 | New Aged BD
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Scrap Rampal power deal

2016-07-14 | The Daily Star
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

BIFPCL Signs Contract Agreement for Main Plant EPC (Turnkey) Package of 2x660 MW Maitree Super Thermal Power Project at Bangladesh

2016-07-14 | NTPC
private BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Activists denounce Rampal deal

Link does not work
2016-07-14 | Dhaka Tribune
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Rampal plant's wheels set in motion

2016-07-13 | The Daily Star
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

The India-Bangladesh Rampal Power Project Is A Waste Of Resources. Here's An Alternative

2016-06-24 | Huffington Post India
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Govt ignores Rampal concerns

2016-06-20 | Dhaka Tribune
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Rampal power cost to rise significantly

2016-06-18 | The Daily Star
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Delhi-Dhaka power project headed for financial mess: Think tank

2016-06-18 | Business Standard
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

NTPC's Bangladesh project puts Exim Bank's global credibility at risk: IEEFA

2016-06-17 | Business Standard
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

A Step Backward for Bangladesh

2016-06-17 | Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis
private BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Bharat Heavy Electricals: Indian firm's condition delays EPC contract signing for Rampal Plant

2016-06-16 | 4 Traders
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

NTPC shareholders urged to push for Rampal coal plant to be dropped

BankTrack appeals to 50+ shareholders in India’s National Thermal Power Corporation to seek withdrawal NTPC from Rampal coal power plant threatening Bangladesh’s Sundarbans forest.
2016-06-13 | Nijmegen, the Netherlands | BankTrack
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Rampal Power Plant: Indian bank urged not to finance it

2016-05-13 | The Daily Star
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

International coalition issues urgent appeal to save Bangladeshs people and tigers from Rampal coal plant

2016-05-11 | Waterkeeper Alliance
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

International coalition issues urgent appeal to save Bangladesh´s people and tigers from coal

Over 70 NGOs from 29 countries send urgent appeal to Exim Bank of India not to finance Rampal coal plant
2016-05-09 | BankTrack
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

BIFPCL offers funds for wildlife conservation in Sundarbans

2016-04-26 | Daily Sun
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

World’s Largest Mangrove Forest In Danger As Huge Coal Plant Comes To Bangladesh

2016-03-16 | Think Progress
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Rampal power project runs into equity funding snag

2015-01-26 | The Daily Star
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Financing hitch stalls progress

2014-11-30 | The Daily Star
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

NTPC and Bangladesh PDB to cooperate in Power Sector

2010-08-30 | NTPC
Resources
Documents
Links
2016-10-07 00:00:00

Summary of independent expert analyses of the Rampal Power Plant

NGO document
2016-10-07 00:00:00 | National Committee for Saving the Sundarbans
2016-09-06 00:00:00

Rebuttal of the National Committee for Saving the Sundarbans (NCSS) to the Maitree Power Plant Authority’s 10 Point Q&A of July 2016

NGO document
2016-09-06 00:00:00 | National Committee for Saving the Sundarbans
2016-01-31 00:00:00

Annual Monitoring Report of Second Year

Monitoring period: November 2015 - January2016
Company document
2016-01-31 00:00:00 | BIFPCL
2015-11-01 00:00:00

Annual Monitoring Report of Second Year

Monitoring period: August 2015 - October 2015
Company document
2015-11-01 00:00:00 | BIFPCL
2015-09-01 00:00:00

Annual Monitoring Report of Second Year

Monitoring period: June 21015 - August 2015
Company document
2015-09-01 00:00:00 | BIFPCL
2015-06-01 00:00:00

Annual Monitoring Report of Second Year

Monitoring period: March 2015 - May 2015
Company document
2015-06-01 00:00:00 | BIFPCL
2015-02-01 00:00:00

Annual Monitoring Report First Year

Monitoring period: February 2014 - February 2015
Company document
2015-02-01 00:00:00 | BIFPCL
2014-11-01 00:00:00

Annual Monitoring Report of First Year

Monitoring period: September 2014 - October 2014
Company document
2014-11-01 00:00:00 | BIFPCL
2014-08-01 00:00:00

Annual Monitoring Report of First Year

Monitoring period: June 2014 - July 2014
Company document
2014-08-01 00:00:00 | BIFPCL
2014-05-01 00:00:00

Annual Monitoring Report of First Year

First Quarter Monitoring
Company document
2014-05-01 00:00:00 | BIFPCL

Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Website

Updates

2016

2016-03-15 00:00:00 | THOUSANDS TAKE PART IN LONG MARCH TO SAVE SUNDARBANS

From 10th to 13th of March: Thousands join in to march from Dhaka to Khulna in a long march to Save the Sundarbans. A large number of civil society groups, students, unions, an Indian solidarity groupand people from all paths of life voiced that there is no alternative to the Sundarbans.
This sign of protest against industrializaiton of the largest mangrove forest was captured by numerous local and international media outlets (see News section).        

2016-03-15 00:00:00 | Thousands take part in long march to save Sundarbans

From 10th to 13th of March: Thousands join in to march from Dhaka to Khulna in a long march to Save the Sundarbans. A large number of civil society groups, students, unions, an Indian solidarity groupand people from all paths of life voiced that there is no alternative to the Sundarbans.
This sign of protest against industrializaiton of the largest mangrove forest was captured by numerous local and international media outlets (see News section).        

2016-01-18 00:00:00 | India BHELto operate Rampal

Out of the three bidders, BHEL was formally announced as the operating company. This means it will have to arrange finance with Indian Exim Bank, the national ECA.    

2015

2015-09-23 00:00:00 | French banks say no to Rampal

The current bidders for the Rampal project are three:
- Consortium of Marubeni Corporation of Japan and Lersen & Toubro Ltd of India
- Consortium of Harbin Electric International Company Ltd of China, ALSTOM of France and Jiangsu Etern Company Ltd of China
- Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), India.        

2015-06-25 00:00:00 | French banks say no to Rampal

Crédit Agricole, Société Générale and BNP Paribas have said no to the Rampal coal power plant project in Bangladesh, reveals the Guardian in an article.    

2010

2010-08-30 00:00:00 | NTPC and Bangladesh PDB to cooperate in Power Sector

NTPC Limited and BPDB signed an MOU today in New Delhi for mutual co-operation for development of Power Sector in Bangladesh.    

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