KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) rose as much as 18 sen yesterday following news that the national utility firm has teamed up with 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s unit, Powertek Bhd, to build a RM6 billion power plant in Bangladesh.
TNB ended eight sen higher at RM12.28 to be among the day’s top 20 gainers, with some 6.9 million shares traded between RM12.14 and RM12.38.
Bernama reported that Malaysia and Bangladesh had signed a government-to-government memorandum of understanding (MoU) for TNB and Powertek to develop the 1,320-megawatt (MW) power plant.
The MoU paves the way for the TNB-Powertek consortium to finance and build the coal-fired power plant in Maheshkhali (in the Cox’s Bazar
District) with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).
It said the TNB-Powertek consortium and BPDB would have equal stakes in the power plant.
The report also quoted Malaysia’s special envoy for infrastructure to India and South Asia, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, as saying the MoU was valid for two years unless extended
by mutual agreement or when the parties sign a definitive joint-venture agreement/shareholder agreement in relation to the project development.
If the parties decide to go ahead with the project after the completion of a feasibility study, they will form a joint-venture company and conduct an international tender to appoint
the engineering procurement and commission contractor.
The TNB-Powertek consortium will provide the technical leadership and coordinate the feasibility study, while BPDB will provide the land for the project.
The project will be developed on a nonrecourse financing basis and the joint-venture company will sign a long-term power purchasing
agreement with BPDB as the sole off-taker of power from the project.