Reconnecting a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, damaged during Cyclone Remal, to the national grid is set to be further delayed as fresh repairs are needed to mechanisms used to keep it docked. 

They will need at least another 10 days to complete the repairs, said Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, yesterday.

"We hoped to complete the repairs by this month (July), but it didn't happen," he said in response to journalists' queries after a programme at the capital's Biddyut Bhaban.

Summit LNG Terminal Co (Pvt) Ltd's floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) had returned from Singapore to Cox's Bazar's Moheshkhali on July 10 after repairs to its ballast tank that was damaged during the cyclone on May 27.

With only one FSRU of Excelerate currently in operation, LNG supply to the national grid has dropped to half, resulting in patchy gas supply in various districts including Dhaka and Chattogram.

At yesterday's programme, the Power Division signed two agreements with Sonagazi Solar Power.

One agreement was over setting up a 50MW solar power plant in Chattogram's Mirsarai upazila and the other was on purchasing power.

"The power plant was supposed to be set up in Feni's Sonagazi but due to non-availability of land, it was shifted to Chattogram," said Habibur Rahman, secretary to the Power Division.

The letter of intent to set up the plant was issued in 2018 but the implementation has been delayed due to the issues over acquiring the land, he said.

Under the agreement, the power plant will be set up by German company ib vogt to provide electricity to the national grid for 20 years at a cost of $0.1094 per unit (kWh-Kilowatt hour).