Wednesday, August 2 2006 10:40 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Close on the heels of the Asian Development Bank asking Bangladesh to consider Tata's three billion dollar investment proposal, the group yesterday (Aug 1, 2006) said its offer to set up a steel plant and fertiliser factory in the neighboring country still stands.

"Our proposal is in front of the Bangladesh government. The World Bank as well as the Asian Development Bank have (extended) their support to it. The project is still under consideration," Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata said here.

Addressing the annual general meeting of Tata Power, he said it was now up to political parties in Bangladesh where general elections are due to clear the proposal.

ADB country director Hua Duto had said last week that the Bangladesh government has to consider the proposal, keeping economic aspects in mind instead of taking it up politically.

"The investment proposal is on hold it is purely an issue between the political parties there as both the ruling party and the opposition want to take credit for bringing in the investment," a top Tata official told sources here.

The Tata group proposes to set up a 2.4-million tonne steel plant, an urea fertiliser factory with a capacity of one million tonnes, a 500 MW coal-fired power station and a 1,000 MW gas-fired power plant in Bangladesh.