Spanish Ambassador in Bangladesh Luis Tejada has expressed satisfaction over the progress of construction works of 335 megawatt gas-based combined cycle power plant at Siddhirganj in Narayangaj.
“I am happy to see the progress of the project. Once completed, the national grid will get power from the plant,” he told journalists during a visit to the project site yesterday.
After one year delay, the power plant is now expected to go into partial operation in July next year. The full operation has also been delayed by one year and is expected to begin in March 2016.
Officials said 60% works of the project have already been completed.
The joint venture of Isolux Ingenieria SA and Samsung C&T Corporation, a Spanish-Korean consortium, obtained the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract and started work in August, 2012.
Isolux signed a contract with American General Electric in Dhaka to get equipment supply for the power plant.
But following the start of the work, when the contractor went to do the heavy piling work, it found a huge water body at a depth of just 12-15 meters beneath the construction site.
The state-owned Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB) is implementing the project with joint funding from World Bank and the government.
The fund is $339m for the power plant along with 230 KV S/S and 11 km 230 KV transmission line and 60 km Gas Pipe Line from Bakhrabad to Siddhirganj.
Earlier, the EGCB signed a contract with its EPC contractor on 28 May, 2012 to set up the gas-based combined cycle plant. About the EPC contractor, Isolux, the envoy said it’s already a well-established company in South Asia.
The company has signed a contract with the American General Electric for supply of equipment for the power station.
“Besides this Siddhirganj plant, Isolux built a 150MW combined cycle power plant in Khulna, the third largest industrial city of Bangladesh,” said Luis Tejada.
He said Spain is the eleventh largest investor worldwide with a stock of foreign direct investment $640m, which accounts for 3% of global investment.
Spain is the fourth largest economy in the Euro zone, the fifth in the European Union and thirteenth in the world in terms of GDP.
In Latin America, it is second largest investors after the United States, the ambassador said.
According to him, Spanish companies are world leaders in sectors with high added value and high growth potential, such as infrastructure management, electricity, renewable energy, high speed rails and water treatment.