Ittefaq Report
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday unveiled the foundation plague of Matarbari 1200-megawatt coal-based power plant in Maheshkhali of Cox’s Bazar.
The PM inaugurated the pant through a videoconference from her official residence ‘Ganobhaban’.
By this, Bangladesh has begun the construction of one of its largest power plants in the coastal district of Cox’s Bazar.
The ultra super critical coal-fired power plant on 1500 acres of land at Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar will be commissioned in 2024.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is financing the plant.
The estimated cost of building the plant on 1,414 acres is around Tk 360 billion.
Speaking on the occasion, the premier said Bangladesh gained the power generation capacity of 16,000 MW now from only 3,200 megawatt in 2009, which is a big achievement for the nation.
Assuming power in 1996, she said, the Awami League government opened up the power generation for the private sector for meeting the growing demand of electricity.
The government cleared the Matarbari project in August 2015, but the tender process suffered a delay after the 2016 Dhaka cafe militant attack, when 17 foreigners, including Japanese engineers, were killed.
Noting that any new venture in Bangladesh faces hindrance and criticism, the Prime Minister said, “When any new venture is taken in Bangladesh, it faces different types of obstruction. Various formulas come and many persons appear with various theories and speak in different types of words.”
Source: Ittefaq.
