The government is going to sign a deal with another Chinese company to set up a 1320MW coal-fired power plant at Maheshlkali Island in Cox’s Bazar district. According to official sources, the state-owned Power Development Board (PDB) will sign the deal in this regard with China Huadian Hong Kong Limited. Both the companies will set up an ultra supercritical technology-based power plant at Maheshlkali in the southeastern coast of Bangladesh. If signed, it will be the second deal of similar category as the state-owned North West Power Generation Company Limited (NWPGCL) signed another deal with Chinese state-owned China National Machinery Import Export Corporation (CMC) on March 19 last. As per that deal, both the NWPGCL and the CMC will set up a joint venture company to set up a similar capacity of 1320 MW coal-fired power plant in Patuakhali, a location also close to the Sundarbans. About the planned deal, PDB officials said the Bangladeshi and Chinese officials completed initial negotiations, and they are likely to ink the agreement towards the end of the current month. “If the planned deal is signed, the number of joint venture coal-fired power plants will reach three raising the total capacity to 3,960 MW as Bangladesh has already entered into a deal with India company-NTPC to set up a 1320 MW coal-fired plant at Rampal in Khulna,” said a top PDB official. He also said the government has drawn up a plan to create a coal-fired power plant hub in the country’s southeastern coast of Maheshkhali and adjoining islands to general 9,000-12,000 MW coal-fired electricity. As part of the plan, Japanese donor agency JICA has been conducting a feasibility study to asses the possibility of building a number of coal-fired power plants to meet the electricity demand. Officials said all the three power plants have been undertaken by the government to implement through negotiations with foreign companies, not under any tender process. In this regard, the foreign companies will take the prime responsibility of arranging financing for the projects since the government is experiencing cash crunch in implementing power plant projects. Speaking as the chief guest at the function during the signing of the last deal with the Chinese company, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said the government has outlined its vision to generate 24,000 MW power by 2021 and 40,000 MW by 2041. – UNB
