The first unit of the coal-fired Matarbari Power Plant in Moheshkhali upazila of Cox's Bazar began its operations on a trial basis on Saturday.
With a generation capacity of 600 megawatts, the unit commenced electricity production at noon, confirmed Matarbari Power Plant Project Superintending Engineer Monowar Hossain Majumder.
“During the initial trial, the unit produced 33MW of electricity, and the production capacity can go up to 125-150MW in the evening. The unit will be officially commissioned to supply up to 150MW of electricity to the national grid,” he said.
The second unit of the Matarbari Power Plant is expected to begin trial production in December, and like the first unit it will also be capable of generating 125-150MW of electricity, he added.
Project officials hope that by December the first unit will reach its full capacity of 600MW.
Matarbari Power Plant Project Director Abul Kalam Azad said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to commission the unit in December this year, launching its regular production.
The total integrated capacity of the plant is 1,200MW, and preparations have been made for commercial production by March or April 2024, and it is planned to be fully operational in July 2024, he added.
The power plant has been built on 1,608 acres of land spanning Matarbari and Dhalghata unions of Moheshkhali upazila.
The project is being implemented by Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited (CPGCL).
It is one of the government's mega projects with Japanese assistance to be built at an estimated cost of Tk51,800 crores. It is also one of the priority projects of the premier.
According to officials involved with the project, the entire plant will require 10,000 tons of coal daily – each unit requiring 5,000 tons.
So far, 300,000 tons of coal have been stockpiled, and an additional 65,000 tons will arrive in the production area by August 7.
Four tanks with a storage capacity of 1.7 million tons have already been built alongside two jetties at the project site to unload coal to the tanks directly from ships, the project director said.
The tanks have the capacity to store necessary coal for 60 days. It will require one and a half days or two days to unload coal from a ship.
The construction work of the project, including two jetties, LNG and LPG terminals, is in its final stages, near Matarbari deep sea port and Matarbari Power Plant site.
