Work on the country’s biggest 718-MW combined cycle power plant, which is scheduled to go into operation by August next year, gets momentum despite the coronavirus outbreak, Power Division official said.
The project will give a tremendous boost to the economic and industrial growth of Bangladesh and enhance the power supply with clean and reliable LNG-based power.
India’s Reliance Power Limited and Japan's JERA through their project company are developing the new gas-fired power plant in Meghnaghat of Narayangonj district.
Reliance power holds 51 per cent, JERA holds the remaining 49 per cent equity in the project company, Reliance Bangladesh LNG and Power Limited.
General Electric (GE) will be providing advanced gas turbine technology upgrade Advanced Gas Path (AGP) for the power plant. The power plant will utilise re-gasified liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel to generate the equivalent electricity needed to supply more than 850,000 homes in Bangladesh.
GE’s contract with Samsung C&T includes GE’s AGP upgrade for two GE 9F.03 gas turbines, steam turbine refurbishment along with control upgrades and parts supply.
Once implemented, the upgrade solution will help deliver up to 6.7 percent increase in power output, up to 3.3 percent improvement in heat rate, up to 2 percent increase in efficiency, enhanced operational flexibility and extending the maintenance interval up to 32,000 hours.
The project company has now signed a loan agreement for full financing totaling $642 million with a group of banks that includes the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and Land Lease Agreement (LLA) were signed between Bangladesh Power Development Board and Reliance Bangladesh LNG and Power Limited of India for the construction of the power plant on September, 2019.
According to the agreement, state-owned Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited will supply gas or LNG to Reliance at the rate of $ 7.2625 per mmbtu, equivalent to taka 80 per US dollar. Bangladesh Power Development Board will purchase power from the plant for 22 years at a levelised tariff rate of 7.312 US cents (Tk 5.85) per kilowatt-hour with 82-per cent plant factor and 12-per cent discount factor as per the power purchase agreement.
Sources said Reliance Bangladesh LNG and Power Ltd, owned by Reliance Power Ltd, signed a memorandum of understanding during Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka five years back in June 2015.
Reliance had announced its plan to set up a 3,000-MW gas-fired power plant and a 500-mmcfd capacity LNG terminal in Bangladesh.
