Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, executive consultant Sreejit K Tagore informed that they were mentally prepared to leave the 240 mw ailing project which is owned by the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) but now running at less than five per cent capacity utilisation.

"I am meeting the Chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta tomorrow. If something happens, it is good otherwise we have to pack off, said Tagore informing that already Ogden had invested Rs 5 crore in the last three years for getting the project.

BTPS was to be renovated and run by the American company by investing around Rs 640 crore, but the Assam government after showing initial interest had remained non-commital keeping the project hanging for more than a year.In fact ASEB and Ogden had signed the the lease, renovate, operate and transfer (L-ROT), last year, but the Assam government was not ready to accept that. Ogden had, however, softened its stands to a bit by announcing that for arbitration, it would not go to London court.

"Probably we are not approaching the court at all. We know will win in the court, but the Assam government will not be able to give us the monetary compensation. So ball is entirely now in Assam government's court. They should tell us what is their problem. They have been keeping silence for months and we too are mentally prepared to leave the project. If it still comes within January, it is well and good and if not then it is all over, he said. Assam government has been maintaining a stoic silence over the project as withdrawal of Ogden will surely hamper their chance of attracting private investment in the near future.

Ogden began their India operation with the BTPS project but the company has now lost interest over it as the Assam government has stopped communicating with the them. Ogden, for the first time, is ready to scrap the orginal L-ROT if the fresh L-ROT is signed over the table simultaneously liquidating the earlier one.