The authorities of the Matarbari coal power plant have warned that if coal imports are not resumed within a month, power generation will stop, potentially leading to increased load shedding.
The High Court halted coal imports at the Matarbari power plant for six months in July due to corruption allegations.
According to the authorities, one power plant unit is currently operational, producing between 650 and 700MW of electricity daily. On Saturday, it supplied up to 602MW.
Managing one unit requires approximately 6,500 to 7,000 tons of coal daily. Currently, there is a stockpile of about 280,000 tons of coal, which is sufficient to continue operations for about a month to a month and a half.
Muhammad Saifur Rahman, the chief engineer (operations and maintenance) of Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh Ltd (CPGCBL), told Dhaka Tribune: "As a tendering case is ongoing in the High Court, our coal imports are temporarily halted. The last shipment arrived last month. With the existing coal reserves, we can operate one unit for about a month."
He added: "We hope the case will be resolved soon, but I can not specify when this issue will be resolved."
The Matarbari coal power plant had ordered 2,205,000 tons of coal through Japan's Sumitomo Corporation. As per the contract, the Japanese company delivered the last supply of coal in mid-August.
According to the rules, the coal power generation company was supposed to buy coal through tender before Sumitomo's supply was ended. The company also invited international tenders for coal supply for three years.
However, Project Director Abul Kalam Azad delayed the process by 10 months to benefit Meghna Group's Unique Cement Consortium. Later, the Consortium of Bashundhara, Equintia and Arthro filed cases alleging irregularities. In July, the High Court imposed a six-month ban on coal import.
When attempts were made to contact Abul Kalam Azad, the project director and managing director of CPGCBL, he did not answer the phone.
However, officials from CPGCBL informed that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is conducting investigations. Currently, he has started working from the Dhaka head office and is not speaking to the media.
On August 31, there was an attempt to illegally transport 56 tons of unused cables worth approximately Tk17.07 crore using three containers. In connection with this incident, Mirzanul Hasan, the assistant security officer of CPGCBL, filed a case against six individuals, including the project director and managing director Abul Kalam Azad, on September 1 at Maheshkhali Police Station. Two employees of Iqbal Marine involved in the incident were arrested.
Mirzanul Hasan told Dhaka Tribune: "Two individuals have been arrested and are currently being interrogated. The ACC is looking into the main accused, so officially no investigation committee or action has been taken yet."
The 1,200MW power project, costing Tk51,854 crore, was constructed on 1,414 acres of land in Matarbari and Dhalghata Unions of Cox's Bazar District, Chittagong Division. One 600MW unit began production in July 2023, and another in December.
As of August 31, the power plant had supplied over 364.81 crore units of electricity to the national grid.
Following the fall of the Awami League government, various allegations of corruption involving the construction costs and other aspects of the Matarbari power plant have surfaced.