NEW DELHI, Feb. 2 India's state-run electric major Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd. says it has bagged a contract to build a $189 million power project in Bangladesh.Dhaka has said it would also import power from the neighboring Indian province of West Bengal to tide over the power crisis in the country.BHEL says that under the deal, it will construct a power project in Siddhirganj in Bangladesh with two units of 120 MW each.The plant will come up by December 2008, said a company spokesman. A Chinese power company had also bid for the project but failed to secure it, The Economic Times newspaper reported Friday. Following tremendous pressure from the Asian Development Bank, the Bangladesh government awarded the project to BHEL, said a local media report. The Netherlands-based consultant KEMA International strongly favored BHEL's bid.State-controlled Bangladesh Power Development Board will implement the project and the ADB has said it will provide a $110 million loan for the project.Dhaka says it was actively considering a proposal to buy electricity from West Bengal to meet its power shortage. The government also formed an expert committee to explore the possibility of a power purchase.Copyright 2007 by UPI
