Joint venture to produce 600MW in Matarbari

A joint venture between Japan's Mitsui & Co and a state-run Bangladeshi company is going to set up a liquefied natural gas-based power plant at Matarbari in Maheshkhali upazila to produce 600 megawatts of electricity.

Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh Ltd yesterday signed a primary agreement with Mitsui & Co to this effect in Dhaka on Wednesday, according to a statement of the power and energy ministry.

The companies will have 50-50 ownership in the joint venture that will complete the project by 2021.

The government has taken initiatives to import a huge amount of LNG from next year. Both land-based and floating LNG terminals will be set up.

The government has approved two floating LNG terminals, each of which will supply 500 million cubic feet of gas per day.

In July, state-run Petrobangla and US-based Excelerate Energy signed the final deals to set up Bangladesh's first LNG terminal in Maheshkhali, which will supply gas to the national grid from early 2018.

The government also awarded Summit Group the work to set up the country's first floating LNG terminal, also in Maheshkhali. This one is due for commissioning by next October.