Adani Group has committed to supplying power to Bangladesh despite dues exceeding $800 million, even as it presses the nation’s interim government to settle payments and avert a crisis, people familiar with the development said.
“The group has requested Bangladesh’s interim government to expedite the payment of dues,” one of the persons cited above has said. “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.”
An email sent to the Adani Group spokesperson remained unanswered at the time of publishing this article.
Adani Power’s 1,600 MW Godda plant in Jharkhand has a 100 percent supply contract with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), the country’s power distribution utility, with an average monthly billing of $90 to $100 million.
The company signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the BPDB in November 2017, during the tenure of the now ousted Sheikh Hasina led government, to supply 1,496 megawatts (MW) from the plant, which is around 10 percent of the country’s peak power demand.
With an overall project cost of $2 billion, the Godda power project is India's first commissioned transnational power project, where 100 percent of the generated power is supplied to another nation. The plant generated electricity in June 2023 and has been providing power to Bangladesh since then.
As of June 30, Adani Power's net debt decreased to Rs 25,653 crore from Rs 26,545 crore on March 31. The finance cost for the quarter ended June 30 fell to Rs 811 crore from Rs 883 crore in the previous year. Adani Power saw its net profit fall 55.33 percent or by Rs 4,846.63 crore to Rs 3,912.79 crore in Q1 2024-25, compared to Rs 8,759.42 crore in Q1 2023-24. The company's revenue, on the other hand, rose by 35.89 percent or by Rs 3,950.09 crore to Rs 14,955.63 crore, from Rs 11,005.54 crore during the same quarter of the previous year.
Apart from power supply, Adani Group also operates edible oil refineries and rice packaging units in Bangladesh.
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 that the Bangladesh utility's outstanding dues, which were accrued under the previous government, were close to $400 million, or about four months of dues. Sawa further stated that monthly billing for the Bangladesh power contract is about $90 million on average, and the payments to Adani Power are denominated in dollars.
Bloomberg reported on August 23 that Bangladesh’s foreign exchange buffer is eroding, with gross reserves of $20.5 billion as of July 31, which is enough to cover about three months of imports. The interim government is trying to secure more loans from the International Monetary Fund, beyond a $4.7-billion programme, to tide over these economic hardships, the report said.
On August 5, the Indian government introduced new rules for electricity producers who export their power, allowing them to sell in the domestic market, too, in cases of consistent drops in offtake or payment defaults.
On Friday, the Adani Power stock fell 1.2 percent to Rs 636.15 on the National Stock Exchange, which the benchmark Nifty index shed 1.16 percent.
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