Dhaka, Delhi sign deals on coal power

Bangladesh and India yesterday inked a deal to set up a 1,320MW coal-fired power plant at Rampal in Bagerhat.
Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and Indian National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) will implement the $1.5 billion project on a 50-50 equity basis.
In effect, three deals were signed: one for implementation of the project, another for the purchase of power by Bangladesh for 25 years and the other is a supplement to the joint venture deal signed on January 29, 2012.
Of the total project cost, 70 percent will be arranged through loans and the rest to be shared equally by BPDB and NTPC.
NTPC and BPDB have already formed Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company to implement the project.
The plant, to be set up on 1,834 acres, is expected to add electricity to the national grid by 2018, with the cost of per unit electricity produced ranging between Tk 5 and Tk 7.
The plant sited near the Sundarbans faced opposition from environmentalists, on grounds that it would destroy the ecology of the region.
Indian Power Secretary P Uma Shankar, however, said the plant will use the latest 'super critical' technology to generate the electricity, which is complaint with all environmental aspects.