The Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between Adani Power and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) was signed in November 2017. The contents of this agreement, including the price of fuel used for electricity generation at the 1,600 megawatt capacity plant built in Jharkhand’s Godda and the conditions mentioned in various clauses, remained shrouded in secrecy for years. Both former and current senior BPDB officials have stated that they were unaware of the details of the agreement for more than four years. Aside from a select few individuals, no one had access to the agreement’s specifics.
Even negotiations over outstanding dues between the Adani Group and the previous Awami League government were conducted with extreme confidentiality. Before the agreement was finalized, top officials of the Adani Group made multiple undisclosed visits to Bangladesh. Last year, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani himself visited Bangladesh on a brief three-hour trip to hand over operational control of the power plant to then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Despite the significance of these developments, Adani Power officials and executives have consistently refrained from engaging with Bangladeshi media.
When Bonik Barta reached out to one former and two current senior BPDB officials for comments, they, on condition of anonymity, revealed that the agreement with Adani Power was highly confidential. The draft of the agreement, sent by the highest levels of the government to the Power Division, was not shared with BPDB. Even at the time of signing, BPDB officials were instructed not to question the terms of the agreement. Ultimately, BPDB signed the agreement without any negotiations on Adani Power’s proposals.
These former and current officials claim that they were unaware of the details of the agreement for at least four and a half years after it was signed with Adani.
Adani Group’s entry into Bangladesh’s power sector was facilitated during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh in 2015. Two years later, on November 5, 2017, Adani Power and BPDB signed the PPA. The 163-page agreement remained confidential until December 2022, when The Washington Post published a leaked copy. The leaked document exposed unfavorable terms, such as inflated coal prices for power supplied to Bangladesh. Following this, the Power Division formed a high-level nine-member committee to review coal pricing and procurement methods.
On February 23 last year, an Adani Power delegation quietly visited Bangladesh to discuss these issues. The delegation comprised five members, including Adani Power’s Managing Director Anil Sardana, a procurement officer, and one official from Adani Power Bangladesh. They briefly met with former Senior Secretary of the Power Division, Md Habibur Rahman, at the Power Division headquarters. The delegation returned to India the same night after the meeting.
Exports from the Godda power plant to Bangladesh began in April 2023. However, a formal announcement of commercial production came much later. Earlier, in July last year, Adani Group’s Chairman, Gautam Adani, made a surprise three-hour visit to Dhaka. Landing at 11 am, he met with then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for an hour before departing at 1 pm. Following the visit, Adani tweeted, “Honoured to have met Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina on full load commencement and handover of the 1600 MW Ultra Super Critical Godda Power Plant.”
At that time, three months after starting electricity exports to Bangladesh, Adani Power had not received any payments. According to a source in the Power Division, although Gautam Adani’s visit to Bangladesh was officially described as handing over the power plant, the primary agenda was settling unpaid dues for electricity supplied. Within two weeks of his visit, Adani Power received its first payment of $17 million from Bangladesh.
Issues surrounding Adani Power’s unpaid bills escalated significantly last year. To recover substantial outstanding dues, Adani Power not only exchanged letters with BPDB but also reduced its electricity supply. Adani Power officials held several meetings with the Power Division and BPDB to address the matter.
In May this year, Pranav Adani, a director of the Adani Group, visited Bangladesh to urge the payment of Adani Power’s outstanding electricity bills. Pranav Adani, the nephew of Gautam Adani, is responsible for overseeing the Adani Group’s business operations in Bangladesh. He has made multiple visits to the country to protect the group’s business interests. During his May visit, he led a five-member delegation to meet then-Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali. The meeting also included top Adani officials, such as Managing Director Anil Sardana, S B Khilaya, Vipul Yadav, and Abhishek Tyagi. On Bangladesh’s side, the Finance Minister was accompanied by Finance Secretary Md. Khairuzzaman Mozumder and other senior officials from the Finance Division. The meeting discussed the progress of obtaining a $2 billion loan from India. During this time, a request was made to regularly clear the Adani Group's electricity bills.
The Adani delegation also expressed interest in further investments in Bangladesh’s power, energy, and infrastructure sectors. After the meeting, Pranav Adani told the media about Bangladesh's significant potential and expressed optimism about contributing to investment opportunities in the country.
While Pranav Adani holds a critical role within the Adani Group, he operates largely out of the public eye compared to other family members. He supervises the group’s activities in Bangladesh. He is the son of Gautam Adani’s elder brother Vinod Adani. Vinod Adani’s name also surfaced in the Hindenburg Research report, which accused the Adani Group of fraud and money laundering.
Since signing the agreement for the power plant in Bangladesh, Adani Group officials have made multiple visits to the country. However, the details of these visits were never disclosed to the media. During Sheikh Hasina’s tenure as Prime Minister, meetings involving Adani Power officials were limited to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Power Division, and BPDB officials.
Industry experts have raised concerns about the power purchase agreement (PPA) between Adani Power and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), particularly regarding its secrecy. Many view such politically influenced projects as counterproductive to Bangladesh’s national interests.
Energy expert and BUET Professor M Tamim told Bonik Barta, “There is no justification for maintaining confidentiality in Bangladesh’s power purchase agreement with Adani. The public has the right to know the details. Even military agreements do not allow for such secrecy. Political influence is evident in this case, as it often is in other countries. This is leading to widespread controversies around their agreements.”
According to regulations, cross-border electricity trade should begin with tenders published in the relevant countries, and the information should also be disseminated through their respective media outlets.
Former Director General of Power Cell, B D Rahmatullah, highlighted the lack of transparency in the process, stating, “For cross-border trade, tenders should be published in international media. But that wasn’t done. The public has a right to know how much is being paid for the electricity and the terms of the agreement—none of which have been disclosed. The negotiation process should have involved technical and commercial considerations. However, there was no situation requiring Bangladesh to accept such a one-sided agreement. This contract was made in complete secrecy, sidelining technical, commercial, and economic concerns. It was executed in violation of standard procedures.”
However, Adani Group representatives maintain that the agreement with BPDB for the Godda power plant adhered to all regulations. There is no secrecy involved.
A reliable source close to Adani Power revealed that between 2016 and March 2017, 17 review meetings were held between Adani Power, BPDB, and the Power Division to discuss the construction and terms of the power plant. Seven of these were formal meetings.
Sources indicated that a technical committee was formed in May 2015 to oversee the Adani Power project. On February 18, 2016, Adani formally submitted a written proposal to the Power Division, followed by a technical proposal on April 6 of the same year. The committee recommended analyzing these proposals and engaging in negotiations.
BPDB data shows that since the commissioning of the Adani Power plant in April 2023 until June 2024, Bangladesh has purchased electricity worth BDT 143.88 billion. This includes BDT 22.41 billion from April to June 2023 and BDT 121.47 billion in the fiscal year 2023-24. As of June 2024, BPDB owed Adani Power BDT 63.90 billion, a debt that has continued to grow in recent months.
A senior official from the Power Division, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Bonik Barta, “The power purchase agreement with Adani is under review. A designated committee has been formed. They have provided some recommendations. The Power Division alone cannot decide on this matter. Final decisions will follow the committee’s suggestions.”
The Adani Group of India operates in various sectors in Bangladesh, including power and energy, edible oil, and special economic zones. However, the group has drawn the most attention and criticism in Bangladesh due to the Godda power project. Recently, the Adani Group has become a topic of global discussion, particularly after federal prosecutors in New York filed bribery and fraud charges last week against Gautam Adani, the group’s chairperson, and several of his associates. Since then, the group has been at the forefront of media coverage. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has already sought responses from Gautam Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, regarding the bribery allegations. Meanwhile, in India, a lawyer named Vishal Tiwari has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking an investigation into the bribery charges brought by U.S. authorities against Gautam Adani and others.
Since the bribery and fraud charges were filed in the US court, the Adani Group has also faced business challenges. Kenya recently canceled an $85.74 billion agreement with the group for airport and power line projects. In Bangladesh, calls to cancel the power purchase agreement with Adani are growing louder. On November 24, Bangladesh’s National Review Committee on the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources recommended appointing a reputed legal and investigative agency to review major power generation agreements signed during Sheikh Hasina’s tenure from 2009 to 2024. The committee reviewing power agreements includes the Adani (Godda) BIFPCL1,234 megawatt coal-fired power plant.
Following the interim government’s assumption of power in August 2024 after the student-led uprising, efforts began to review unequal agreements in the power sector, including those with Adani. However, disputes over pending bills for the Godda power plant have added new complexities. At one point, Adani Power threatened to halt supply due to unpaid dues, prompting swift action by the government to clear the outstanding amount. BPDB owes Adani Power $732 million. Efforts are underway to settle monthly payments exceeding $100 million. According to BPDB sources, payments of $15 million in July, $20 million in August, $65 million in September, $97 million in October, and $60 million in November have been made. In total, over $250 million in outstanding dues has been cleared for Adani Power in the current fiscal year.