The government is very much cautious about implementing the Rampal coal-fired power plant near the Sundarbans and is open to any suggestion from any quarter to prevent damage to the mangrove forest, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s energy adviser Dr. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury on Thursday. “We will implement the project in accordance with the law and the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report. We have already taken up some measures to protect the Sundarbans,” Dr Chowdhury said.
He was addressing a programme on the eve of the inauguration of the Haripur 412 MW power plant at Bidyut Bhaban yesterday. State minister for power, energy and mineral resources Enamul Haque and senior officials were also present.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to formally inaugurate the newly built Haripur 412 MW combined cycle power plant on August 24. This power plant would be the largest base-load power plant implemented under the present Awami League government in the public sector. The cost of power production is Tk. 1.7154 per unit, with a 53 per cent efficiency level.
“The government will not change its mind. We are set to implement the Rampal power project, but we will urge the vendor to address the environmental issues so as to protect the Sundarbans,” Dr Chowdhury said.
The state-owned Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB) has implemented the base-load power plant at Haripur in Narayanganj district with Japanese financial cooperation.
According to the EGCB, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has provided an amount of Japanese yen equivalent to USD 491 million for a number of components in the Haripur power plant project. These include extension of a 132-kV substation for power evacuation, construction of a 1.6-km gas pipeline, and relocation and demolition of old substations.
EGCB managing director Mostafa Kamal said the power plant is fully ready for full-scale operation. But until a connecting gas pipeline is completed, the power plant may not go into full capacity production. He noted that the plant requires 64 mmcfd of gas daily.
The Prime Minister’s adviser said the government is planning to install more coal-fired power plants in Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and other parts of the country, just to minimise the costs and ensure fuel supply to the power plant at the cheapest rate.
Describing government initiatives to mitigate the power and energy crisis, Dr Chowdhury said, “We had taken up the power crisis issue as a challenge and adopted various measures to mitigate it on a war footing.”
“We increase power production from 7,500 MW to 9,000 MW and increased gas production from 1,750 mmcf to 2,300 mmcf per day. Through this measure we have been able to add 30 lakh new electricity consumers to our distribution system,” he added.
-With The Independent input
