Plan to up power production to 9426MW by 2015

The government has a plan to increase the electricity generation to 9426 MW by 2015 through implementing a short, medium, and long-term projects, State Minister for Energy and Power Md Enamul Haque said yesterday.
"This may sound an ambitious plan, but it is a must to increase the power generation to transform Bangladesh into a middle income country," he told a discussion at the National Press Club in the city, organised by the Energy Reporters Forum.
He also said that about 40 percent of people are living below the poverty line who do not have access to electricity.
At present, the country's available generation capacity is 3800-4000 MW.
According to the government plan, about 920MW will be added to the national grid by 2011. The generation will be raised to 1369 MW by 2012, 1975 MW by 2013, 1770 MW by 2014 and 2600 MW by 2015.
The minister said that 40-50 percent power will be generated in the private sector while the rest will come from public sector. An Energy Fund is being created to implement the power projects.
He also said that the government is likely to take a decision soon in favour of open pit coal mining.
"If coal is extracted through open pit mining method, we'll get the optimum output. So, it would be better to go for open pit mining operation after addressing the relevant social issues," he said.