Will Bangladesh cancel its Hasina-era Adani Power deal? Interim govt says it would if...

Bangladesh’s interim government said it would not hesitate to cancel an existing power supply agreement with Adani Group if corruption or irregularities were found, as scrutiny intensifies over energy contracts signed under the previous administration of Sheikh Hasina.

“The contracts (generally) state that no corruption has occurred, but if proven otherwise, cancellation is possible,” Energy Affairs Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan told local media, referring to a 2017 power purchase deal between Adani Power and Bangladesh.

Khan’s comments followed an interim report submitted by the National Review Committee, which was established to review power sector contracts signed during the Hasina regime.

The panel, headed by retired High Court judge Moinul Islam Chowdhury, said it found “massive governance failure” and “massive corruption” across the energy sector.

“In the course of review of power purchase agreements, we found massive corruption, collusion, fraud, irregularities and illegalities,” Chowdhury told reporters, adding that a separate report had been prepared on the Adani Power deal.

Under the 2017 agreement, Adani Power’s 1,600-megawatt Godda coal-fired power plant in Jharkhand was to supply all its electricity output to Bangladesh for 25 years. The plant began commercial operations in April 2023.

Bangladesh cleared $437 million in dues to Adani Power in June, easing payment delays that had previously led to reduced power supply.

One member of the review committee told reporters that foreign contracts involved legal complications, making unilateral cancellation difficult without due process to avoid penalties.

Prominent jurist Shahdeen Malik cautioned that scrapping foreign contracts could expose Bangladesh to legal claims worth up to $5 billion if disputes reached international arbitration.

The National Review Committee is expected to submit its final report in January.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Power has allowed Adani Power to connect its Godda plant to the national electricity grid. The approval, issued on September 29, grants the company authority under the Indian Telegraph Act to install transmission lines across 56 villages in Jharkhand’s Godda district, The Indian Express reported.

The move will enable Adani Power to sell electricity domestically in addition to exports to Bangladesh. Citing official correspondence, the report said the company had written to the ministry a day after Hasina’s ouster in August 2024, seeking permission to supply power within India when exports to Bangladesh were reduced for “geo-political” reasons.