Another 5,048 megawatts of electricity will be added to the national grid by 2016, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Saturday.
Inaugurating the 54th Convention of Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) on the IEB Chittagong Centre premises, Hasina, also President of the ruling Awami League, said that the country’s total power generation capacity was only 1,700 MW when her party took the office in 1996.
“We’d upgraded the power generation capacity to 5,300 MW in our five years in office. But when we assumed the office again (in January 2009), we found the production had come down to 3,200 MW.”
After assuming the office for the second term, Hasina said, her government took many short- medium- and long-term programmes to boost power generation.
The Prime Minister said that a total of 3,600 MW electricity was added to the national grid in the last four years and the daily demand was nearby 6,500 MW.
IEB President Engineer Nurul Huda, General Secretary Abdus Sabur, Chairman of Convention Preparatory Committee Mohammad Harun and General Secretary MA Rashid spoke at the function.
After inaugurating the IEB convention, the Prime Minister went to the Chittagong Circuit House from where she inaugurated the Foujdarhat Nursing College, Institute of Health Technology at Foujdarhat, Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases and Cardiac Surgery Department of Chittagong Medical College Hospital.
From the same venue, she also laid the foundation stone of an 850-bed hospital for women and children.
Later, she flew to Pomra in Rangunia to inaugurate the resumption of operations of Karnaphuli Jute Mills and Forat Carpet Factory.
Hasina will address a public rally at the Rangunia Pilot High School playground at Mariamnagar, organised by the upazila unit of the Awami League.bdnews24.com
