Dhaka, February 17:

Indian industrial giant Tata want to revive their three- billion-dollar investment proposal in Bangladesh, but are prepared to wait.

“We are exploring the possibility of seeing if we can start off again from where we left last time and come to a good conclusion. I think, the best thing is to wait for some time,” S Manzer Husain, resident director of Tata Group, said after meeting with Foreign Affairs adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury.

Analysts said Tata’s wait-and-watch is prompted by the current situation in Bangladesh that is ruled by a caretaker government that is cautiously taking long-pending economic decisions. It has so far taken the more urgent ones, including awarding a 240 MW power project to Indian public sector Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).

Husain had earlier this month met Advisor in charge of energy, T Choudhary, who told the media after the meeting that the government was initially taking only short-term proposals. The Tata proposal is a long-term one and the biggest Bangladesh has ever received. After two years’ negotiations, Tata was told last year by the then Khaleda Zia government that it was ‘politically sensitive’ and was best left to be decided after the general elections.

The ninth general election, however, was cancelled last month and the country is now under an emergency. It is not clear when the polls would be held.

Tata’s package investment proposals include setting up of a 2.4 million-tonne steel plant, a fertiliser plant, a 475 MW gas-fired power plant and the development of Barapukuria coal mine thro-ugh open-cast methodology.