Tata resumes talks with Bangladesh Govt on its $ 3billion investment

Dhaka, May 11 (UNI) The Bangladesh government and Indian industrial giant Tata resumed talks here today after a two-year deadlock on its proposed three billion dollars investment in steel, fertiliser, power plant and coal mine projects.

Officials said Tata Sons Executive Director Alan Rosling led the Tata team in the meeting with Bangladesh Board of Investment (BoI).

BOI executive chairman Kamal Uddin and the Secretaries to the Energy, Power and Industry Ministries and senior officials were present from the Bangladesh side at the meeting that lasted for nearly four hours.

''It's a positive development that we formally resumed discussion after two years. Lot of developments took place in both sides and we've to look at those developments,'' Tata Group, Communication Director, Manzer Hossain told reporters here after the meeting.

Asked when the next round of the meeting will be held, Hossain said that there could be further engagement after announcement of the coal policy by the Bangladesh government since coal mine project has been incorporated in the Tata's proposal.

A draft coal policy was also submitted to the Energy Ministry for scrutiny which is likely to be submitted to the Council of Advisor after two months for consideration.

Tata's had formally submitted 2.5 billion dollars investment proposal in April 2005 and later revised it to around three billion dollars to set up a 1,000-MW power plant, a steel mill with an annual production capacity of 4,20,000 tonnes and a fertiliser unit with one million tonne capacity in Bangladesh.

Its negotiations with the government broke down in July 2006 as the former BNP-led alliance had kept it for the next elected government to make final decision on the investment proposal.

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