Tata Group today shelved its plans to invest $3 billion in assorted projects in Bangladesh after struggling for nearly four years to secure the neighbouring nation’s nod on assured gas supply.

The investments promised by the salt-to-steel-to-software giant would have been the single biggest foreign direct investment in the history of Bangladesh. The Tata Group had in 2005 announced a 2.4 million tonne steel plant, a one million tonne urea plant and a 1,000 MW thermal power plant entailing a cumulative investment of $ 2.5 billion.

The group had entered into a 15-year gas-and-coal supply agreement with the government, but Dhaka continued to dither on the commitment owing to fluid political situation. This had irked Tatas’ to a point that the group was forced to suspend work on the projects. “The (Bangladesh) government will not be in a position, in the foreseeable future, to grant the projects the natural gas commitment they would require. Consequently, there is no prospect in taking these projects further,” the group said in a statement. It had also handed over a letter to the executive chairman, Board of Investment, of the Bangladesh government to this effect, the statement added. The group, however, clarified that it has other interests in Bangladesh, and it would continue to develop them.

The Tatas said they had proposed four large projects in 2004 and had intensive discussions with the government until 2006. “At that point, the group suspended further work on the projects, as an agreement on key issues with the government was not possible,” the statement said.