The government wants to construct another 1200MW coal-fired power plant with two units to make the ongoing power plant at Matarbari in Cox’s Bazar economically viable.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has shown interest to invest in the project, an official said. Currently, a coal fired power plant with capacity of 1200MW, is under construction at Moheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar. It is expected that the first and second units of the power plant, each with a 600MW production capacity, will go into commercial operation by January 2024, and July 2024 respectively. State-owned Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited (CPGCBL) is implementing the project at a cost of Tk 35,984 crore, of which Tk 7,045 crore is coming from the government exchequer and CPGCBL fund, while the remaining Tk 28,939 crore as project assistance from JICA. The per unit power generation cost of the power plant will be around taka 12-13, which is more than furnace oil. However, two coal power plants are now underway, one is Payra with 1320MW and the other is Rampal with1320MW. Both power plant generation cost will be around taka 6.
“To reduce the abnormal price, the government wants to construct another power plant. If another power plant is constructed then it will be able to use the same infrastructure. As a result, the production cost will fall,” a power division official said. CPGCBL Managing Director Golam Kibria told Bangladesh Post, “The initial cost of the ongoing power plant will be high due to channel dredging and other expensive work. To reduce the generation cost of Matarbari, another power plant with two units will have to be constructed. “If we can set up another power plant, it will require less amount of initial investment because the acquisition of land and development, building of infrastructure, excavating channels and jetty to offload coal and other major works are being done for the ongoing power plant. So, only equipment cost will be needed for the second power plant. As a result, the generation cost will be reduced, which will be more economically viable,” he added.
The official said, some 1,608 acres of land has been acquired for the construction of ongoing 1200MW power plant. Normally, some 350-400 acres of land is needed for a 1200MW power plant. However, around 4 times that has been acquired. On the other hand, a channel of 7 kilometers is being dredged there. The coal for the country’s other power plants will be offloaded through the channel. Japan, a key development partner of Bangladesh, signed a $2.5 billion official development assistance (ODA) consisting five development projects, including Matarbari power plant during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit May 28-30. Four other projects are Matarbari port development project, Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project (Line 1), ongoing Foreign Direct Investment project (II) and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Promotion Financing Project (Phase 2). The government has undertaken a number of coal-and LNG-based power plants across the country to generate 24,000MW electricity by 2021, 40,000MW by 2030 and 60,000MW by 2041.
