Govt approves three projects to upgrade power distribution

The government has undertaken three projects of Tk 20,183 crore for improving power distribution system in the country as part of its plans to take electricity to all houses by 2021.

China and the Asian Development Bank will finance 67 percent of the cost of the projects, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said after the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved the projects.

The government has a target to bring all houses under electricity coverage by 2021, and the three projects would allow the government to reach the goal two years ahead of time, Kamal said.

At present, about 70 percent of the houses have electricity.

One of the projects involves strengthening the power grid network at a cost of Tk 13,703 crore.

The project will be implemented on a government-to-government arrangement with China contributing Tk 9,707 crore.

This is one of the 28 projects for which preliminary agreements were signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Bangladesh last month. The cabinet committee on economic affairs has primarily nominated a Chinese company for implementing the project.

Under the project, 100-kilometre 400kV new transmission lines, 330km new 230kV transmission lines, and 334km 132kV new transmission lines will be set up.

The existing 225km 132kV transmission lines will also be rehabilitated under the project. Besides, new power sub-stations will be set up and existing sub-stations rehabilitated.

Under the two other projects, the power distribution system will be improved in eight divisions at a cost of Tk 6,481 crore. The ADB will provide Tk 3,914 crore.

The two projects will bring about 9.5 lakh new subscribers under the national grid network, according to a proposal of the planning ministry.

Some 11,965km 11kV or lower voltage lines will be set up. Besides, the capacity of about 39,000km existing lines will be enhanced.

Two of the projects will be implemented by 2019 and the other by 2021.

Ecnec also approved a Tk 367 crore project to construct 398 flats at 20 abandoned houses in Gulshan, Banani and Mohammadpur areas to solve the housing problem confronted by government employees.

The planning ministry said the flats will be ready by 2019.  Only 9 percent or 13,052 of the 148,915 government officials posted in the capital have state-provided accommodation, according to statistics from the planning ministry.

The government wants to increase the number of its employees residing in state-owned houses to 18,276 by 2019. Even if the government reaches its target as per its plan, 87 percent of the government staff will still remain outside the purview of the facility, said a planning ministry official.

Ecnec has passed another project, involving Tk 200 crore, to improve the operation capacity of the police in Dhaka metropolitan area.

In total, Ecnec approved 10 projects at a cost of Tk 22,876 crore.