Rampal Project<\/em>
\nMuhith says he does not care about ultimatum<\/strong>
\nCabinet committee okays eight more power plants<\/strong><\/span>
\nFinance minister AMA Muhith said Sunday that he didn\u2019t care about the ultimatum from the National Oil and Gas Committee for dropping the coal-fired power plant near the Sunderbans. \u2018I don\u2019t care,\u2019 Muhith told reporters at his office emerging from cabinet committee meetings on economic affairs and purchase, a day after the citizens\u2019 oil and gas committee asked the government to drop the power plant plan by October 11 or face agitations.
\nMuhith called the oil and gas committee\u2019s whole idea of ultimatum to drop the Rampal thermal power plant as \u2018wrong.\u2019
\nHundreds of protesters took part in the just ended 400-kilometre protest march from the capital to the Sunderbans organized by the national oil and gas committee city to press seven demands, including dropping the Rampal power project to protect the world\u2019s largest mangrove forest, home to Bengal Tigers.
\nMuhith said no matter what the long march organizer Anu Muhammad said, the country had no option other than building the coal-fired power plant.
\n\u2018Coal is the second cheapest source of power after gas,\u2019 he said.
\nThey have been opposing for long the government\u2019s plans to extract coal from Phulbari, he said.
\nAnd now, they are opposing the Rampal power plant site, he said.
\nHe said energy division had been asked to hold discussions with the green activists on the issue of Rampal power plant.
\nHe said none could get pollution free energy from coal-fired power plants.
\n\u2018All you could do is to minimize the adverse impacts,\u2019 he said.
\nThe cabinet committee on purchase approved eight power plants, seven of them \u2013 coal fired and one — gas-fired, to be set up by private sector power suppliers.
\nSummit Group and S Alam bagged the contracts to set up two coal-fired power plants each and Orion Group –three.
\nThe per unit power production cost has been set at Tk 6 to 7.
\nLiberty Power Consortium, owned by non-resident Bangladeshis, was awarded the contract to set up a 50 megawatt gas-fired power plant at Fenchuganj. Per unit production cost for it has been set at Tk 2.61.
\nBesides, the purchase committee approved the procurement of services worth $265 million from Russian state-run Rosatom for Rooppur nuclear power plant and also its appointment as consultants for clean air and sustainable environment for Tk 18.65 crore.<\/p>\n

-With New Age<\/strong> input<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rampal Project Muhith says he does not care about ultimatum Cabinet committee okays eight more power plants Finance minister AMA Muhith said Sunday that he didn\u2019t care about the ultimatum from the National Oil and Gas Committee for dropping the coal-fired power plant near the Sunderbans. \u2018I don\u2019t care,\u2019 Muhith told reporters at his office … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n