Company to monitor coal-fired power plants in the offing

The power ministry is planning to form a separate company to set up 3-4 coal-fired power plants with total capacity of about 2000 MW.
Presently, the country has only one coal-fired 250MW power plant in the Barapukuria coalmine area.
Officials said the proposed plants will use coal, mainly imported from India, in the absence of adequate supply from the coalmine.
The Power Development Board has selected a number of sites for the plants, including on the bank of the river Karnaphuli in Chittagong, in Khulna near the Mongla Port, at Jazira on the bank of the Padma and at Meghna Ghat on the bank of the river Meghna.
A senior official said as the proposed plants will be fed mainly by imported coal they will require huge infrastructure. “That's why we're contemplating setting up a separate company to deal with the whole task, from installation to operation.”
According to the plan, PDB will conduct feasibility study on setting up of coal-fired power plants. It will share experience with countries operating coal-fired power plants to determine the process.
The government had earlier planned that the proposed coal-fired power plants will be set up through public-private partnership. “We're yet to determine the mode of government participation. This will be decided later on the basis of other nations' experiences,” said an official.
He said PDB has set a timeline to implement the coal-fired power plant projects. International tender will be floated by the government within the next six months to set up the coal-fired power plants.
The country's overall electricity generation is now hovering around 3,800 MW against the peak hour demand for over 5,500 MW.