2nd power plant in Rampal on cards
Amid raging debate over the under-construction coal-based power plant in Rampal, the government is going to set up another 1,320-megawatt plant next to the current project.
The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday allocated Tk 492.42 crore for land development, conservation and construction of boundary walls of the second plant to be built 23 kilometres south of Khulna city.
State-run Bangladesh Power Development Board has conducted an internal feasibility study for the project to be implemented by June 2017.
The government acquired 1,834 acres of land for the two power plants in Rampal. Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Pvt Ltd is now working on 915.50 acres to set up the first plant.
The construction of the second plant will begin if the first plant becomes a success, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told reporters yesterday after the Ecnec meeting.
“We are beginning the site development work in advance so that it remains ready for the second project.”
Indian National Thermal Power Corporation, which has been jointly working with Bangladesh Power Development Board on the current project, may be awarded the second project if it can successfully complete the first one, meeting sources said.
Local and international environmental organisations have already raised serious questions about the first coal-fired power plant in Rampal, saying it does not meet the minimum social and environmental standards.
The first plant is located just 14 kilometres upstream of the Sundarbans Reserve Forest, the world's largest remaining contiguous mangrove forest and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The government is increasingly moving towards producing more electricity from sources other than gas, since the reserve for the cheapest and cleanest energy source is dwindling fast and will finish by 2030 according to a forecast.
The country has electricity generation capacity of 11,532MW with average daily generation standing at 7,500MW. The demand for electricity is increasing by 10 percent annually, according to official statistics.
The government forecast that the electricity demand will go up to 18,838MW in 2021 and 33,708MW in 2030.
Domestic and imported coal will produce 50 percent of the total electricity while 25 percent of power will come from domestic gas and imported liquefied natural gas and the rest from oil, nuclear and renewable energy, according to the government's Power System Master Plan.
The second Rampal plant involving Tk 6,553 crore is one of the five projects Ecnec approved at the meeting at the National Economic Council.
Other Ecnec-approved projects
Ecnec yesterday approved a Tk 54-crore project proposal to construct a road to Myanmar in order to strengthen economic relations with the neighbouring country.
The proposed road to be named Bangladesh-Myanmar Friendship Road will pass through Balukhali in Cox's Bazar's Ukhia upazila and Ghumdhum in Naikkhanchharhi upazila of Bandarban district. It is expected to be completed by June 2017.
The road will have four lanes, the planning minister said, adding bridges on the road would have the same number of lanes.
As part of the project, Bangladesh will construct a 23-km road inside Myanmar while China will finance another 117-km road inside the country, said Kamal.
Once completed, the road will help Bangladesh forge economic, social, cultural and political relationships with not only Myanmar but also China and other nations of Southeast Asia, officials said.
Ecnec approved another proposal to build a sewage treatment plant in the capital's Khilgaon at a cost of Tk 3,318 crore, two-thirds of which will be financed by China.
The Chinese government has already nominated Hydro China Corporation for Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant scheduled to be completed in 2019.
For the project, 60 acres of land will be acquired in Gazaria area, Khilgaon.
Once the plant is built, sewage from Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara, Bashundhara, Tejgaon, Moghbazar, Eskaton, and parts of Dhanmondi and Kalabagan will be treated using modern techniques, according to the proposal from the planning ministry.
At present, sewage from the areas is released untreated into the Balu and Shitalakkhya rivers, posing a threat to river ecology.
Ecnec also approved another project proposal involving Tk 482.10 crore to improve the living standards of people through proper management of water resources in Faridpur, Rajbari, Magura and Gopalganj districts.
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