Bangladesh has signed an agreement with Malaysia to set up another 1320 megawatt thermal power plant at Maheshkhali.
The coal-fired plant, to be constructed on Built, Own and Operate (BOO) basis, is expected to be completed by 2019.
The PDB and the Consortium of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Powertek Berhad (PB), Malaysia will jointly implement the project.
State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid signed the MoU with Malaysia’s S Samy Vellu, special envoy for Infrastructure to India and South Asia.
Officials say the project cost will be assessed during the feasibility study but estimate the debt will be around 70-80 percent.
The daily coal demand has been estimated at 11,000 tonnes.
Indonesia, South Africa, Australia and Mozambique are thought to be potential coal-sourcing countries.
Bangladesh’s largely gas-based power sector has failed to match growing demand despite a surge in power production over the past few years.
It is importing 500MW of power from India and another 100MW is expected to be added from the Indian state of Tripura by the end of this year.
Power shortage has forced the government to look for alternative energy sources. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the government was keen on tapping solar energy.
Bangladesh has signed agreements with India, China and Japan to set up coal-fired power plants amid protests by environmentalists.
Source: Bd news24
