These plants will together generate 360 MW power.

Such plants typically cost three to five times more than the conventional plants of similar size, sources in the Power Development Board said. Whereas the Meghnaghat 450 MW plant charges Tk 1.8 per kilowatt hour, these plants may charge between Tk 4 and Tk 8.

Besides, experiences show that such plants cannot be installed within six or eight months' time if procured brand new ones.

“The only way the nation can now procure and install skid or barge or truck mount power plants before the next national election is to buy them second hand,” noted an industry insider.

Sources said like the previous attempt of a section of officials at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to award small power purchase contracts to different ministers and ruling party men, these officials are once again planning to award the deals to influential party men.

The Power Division of the energy ministry on December 1 in a notification said that the government has approved skid/barge or trailer mount plants to be set up in eight areas. These are: Kumargaon of Sylhet (20 MW gas based), Shahjibazar (20X4 or 80 MW gas based), Bogra (20 MW gas or petroleum), Katakhali of Rajshahi (20 MW gas or petroleum), Thakurgaon (20 MW gas or petroleum), Fenchuganj (50 MW gas), Khulna (50 MW gas or petroleum) and Shikalbaha (100 MW gas or petroleum).

The power ministry notification says these plants will be set up to tackle the power crisis in the next summer.

The PDB has been asked to start selling tender documents from yesterday with a deadline of January 16. The tender submission date has been fixed to be on January 17, tender evaluation deadline February 7 and the issuance of letter of intent and other clearances by February 28.

The notification says that the PDB will purchase the power from these plants in local currency under a 15-year contract. All these plants will have 'dual-fuel' provision. This provision makes a plant costlier, PDB sources said.

The builders of the plants will be given 90 to 120 days to set up skid or trailer mount plants and 150 days to 180 days for barge-mounted plants.

"These plants will cripple the PDB as the power price will be very costly," a PDB source said. "We do not know who advises the government to go for such plans. We can have one or two skid or trailer mount plants as temporary solution. But the government is going for eight such plants with 15 years of power sales contract. It can never be a solution to the power crisis," he added.