Niko Pipeline Scam
Probe points finger at energy ministry
Staff Correspondent
Petrobangla has concluded its investigation into the Niko gas pipeline scam with the findings that Titas gas company had to illegally give pipes to Niko for a 19km pipeline as per a directive of the energy ministry. Titas gave the pipes which belonged to Dhaka Clean Fuel Project (DCFP) on condition that Niko would replace those within three months. The DCFP is an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded project, and Titas was in no position to lend the pipes. While giving the pipes to the Canadian company, Titas just mentioned that these belonged to the DCFP. Niko replaced the pipes after three months. The three-member Petrobangla probe committee was preparing its report yesterday and it will be submitted to the energy ministry next week. Earlier this week, the ministry had asked Petrobangla to investigate the scam as the ADB threatened to suspend funding the $113.4 million DCFP. Stakeholders of the DCFP include Titas and other gas companies under Petrobangla. The ADB warning followed a report in The Daily Star in the previous week that exposed the pipeline scam. "The investigators found the report authentic," said one source. The Daily Star reported that while Tengratila gas field was burning during March- June, Niko was busy constructing the 19 km pipeline to carry Tengratila gas to Doarabazar. The then state minister for energy (later ousted) Mosharraf Hossain had forced Titas to give the pipes to Niko although those beloned to the DCFP and were not suitable for supplying gas from gas fields. The Canadian company had no permission from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the government's Explosives Directo-rate, Petrobangla, Jalalabad Gas Transmission Company Ltd or even the Joint Management Committee comprising Bapex and Niko officials to construct the pipeline. There is no Gas Purchase Sales Agreement (GPSA) against this pipeline. The DCFP on the other hand suffered delay because of this illegal act.
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