Power Development Board (PDB), alongside the power division's plans, was frequently altered under pressure from the Summit Group, not in the interest of the country, but to accommodate the wishes of Muhammad Aziz Khan, chairman of the group and a close associate of Sheikh Hasina, state documents from the PDB.
These events not only caused significant financial losses to the state but also left ill-planned power plants as a major burden for the PDB.
According to PDB sources, the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase approved two oil-based power plants—52MW at Santahar and 100MW at Syedpur—on 1 June 2011. After Summit Group failed to complete the plants on time, several reminders were issued.
Eventually, the PDB decided to forfeit Summit's $1.2 million deposit. A notice was issued to that effect.
The deposit was supposed to be forfeited following the notice.
However, under threats from the influential Aziz Khan, everything changed.
On the instruction of the then state minister for power, Enamul Haque, PDB was forced to withdraw the notice.
Instead, an extension was granted, allowing the replacement of the planned power plants in Santahar and Syedpur with those at Madanganj in Narayanganj and Barisal, as per Summit’s request, which clashed with the PDB’s master plan.
The primary objective of setting up power plants in northern regions was to mitigate evening load shedding in the area.
At the time (2012), electricity from Ashuganj and Sylhet was supplied to the north, causing system losses due to the long transmission lines, making voltage regulation difficult.
This often resulted in transformer burnout and damaged electrical appliances. The master plan incorporated these power plants to ensure uninterrupted, quality power supply.
However, Summit's greed for excessive profits derailed these plans. Zakir Hossain, then director of the IPP Cell-3, was coerced into approving the relocation.
The helpless PDB had to remain a silent observer.
Aziz Khan, known as the "don" of the power sector, orchestrated this fraud to profit from the fuel transport costs for the oil-based plants.
If the Syedpur plant had been built, fuel would have been transported via waterways from Chattogram to Baghabari and then by rail or road to the site. These transport costs were already accounted for in the contract.
Nevertheless, the plants were shifted to Barisal and Meghnaghat under the pretext of reducing transportation costs, although Summit still received the previous transport cost allocations, as confirmed by PDB sources.
PDB signed a contract with Summit Power Limited and the Consortium of Summit Industrial and Mercantile Corporation for these power plants, among others. Notably, despite their lack of qualifications, Sheikh Hasina’s recently ousted government handed over three large power plants—Bibiyana-1, 2, and 3—to Summit, along with a 350MW combined cycle power plant in Meghnaghat.
Despite Summit’s failure to secure funding for Bibiyana, the Awami League government repeatedly extended the deadline unlawfully.
The Bibiyana-1 power plant, being an Independent Power Plant (IPP), required no government funding.
Failing to start work on time should have resulted in contract termination and the forfeiture of Summit's $3 million deposit. However, the power division did not take any action against Summit.
Summit Group not only relocated the power plants but also held the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) hostage for the Madanganj plant.
Under the law, all fuel imports are the sole responsibility of BPC.
However, Aziz Khan, through intimidation, secured permission to import fuel. In July 2013, Summit Group was unlawfully granted approval to import 100,000 tonnes of furnace oil annually. Despite objections raised by BPC at an inter-ministerial meeting, they were ignored.
The then prime minister’s energy adviser, Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, and the former state minister for power, energy, and mineral resources, Enamul Haque, led efforts to subdue BPC.
It is rumoured that the state minister openly threatened the BPC chairman at the inter-ministerial meeting.
Consequently, BPC had to issue a permit to Summit for furnace oil imports.
Summit’s dominance in the sector was such that insiders referred to Aziz Khan as the "real ruler" of the industry.
For them, state laws and regulations were no more than scrap paper. Neither laws, policies, nor the master plan mattered as Summit always got its way in the energy sector.
Summit was also exempt from taxes on the 100,000 tonnes of imported oil, with the government paying Summit Power a 9% service charge.
When Summit was granted permission to import oil, many energy experts raised objections, warning that it would lead to over-invoicing and money laundering.
Both BPC and Customs found evidence of over-invoicing in Summit’s oil imports, although these findings were later suppressed due to Summit's influence.
Investigations revealed that Summit imported furnace oil at prices 1.5 times higher than what BPC was paying at the time, enabling them to siphon off money abroad.
Aziz Khan, once a minor businessman, has now become one of Singapore’s top businessmen.
In Forbes' 2024 billionaire list, he is the first Bangladeshi to be featured, ranking 2,545th with assets worth $1.1 billion, largely from the energy sector.
Forbes notes that Khan is now a permanent resident of Singapore, where he was previously ranked the 41st richest person.
At a recent seminar, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association President Shawkat Aziz Russell remarked on the troubling situation, stating, "Local companies have turned into Singaporean entities overnight. We used to pay locally, now we send dollars to Singapore, which is causing today’s dollar shortage. We've been played."
Summit’s ventures abroad and accusations of money laundering through over- and under-invoicing have sparked numerous controversies. Summit Group has also been accused of holding the energy sector hostage alongside the power sector.
They own an FSRU in Maheshkhali and are set to receive another in Mongla. There are also numerous rumours circulating about their involvement in the floating LNG terminal sector.
Summit Group owns 18 power plants.
Records from seven of these plants, with a combined capacity of 1,323MW, show that PDB pays over Tk125.56 crore in capacity charges each month.
From July 2021 to March 2022 (nine months), these seven plants received Tk1161.39 crore in capacity charges.
Critics claim that the power division has been reduced to a puppet, serving companies like Summit, Confidence Group, United Group, and Orion Group. Despite no need for them, rental and quick rental power plants had their contracts repeatedly extended.
In some cases, even after the expiry of their contracts, rental power plants were converted to IPPs, and capacity charges continued to be paid.
