The government has allocated Tk276.10 crore in the revised budget for the ongoing fiscal year for building the 1,200MW coal-fired Matarbari power plant, one of the “fast lane” projects.
An official of the Finance Division said that the project had been in the implementation phase when the main budget for FY2014-15 was placed. So, this time around, the fund has been allocated following a proposal from the Power Division.
The revised budget, including supplementary approvals and allocation demands, was published last week.
As per the Power Division’s proposal, capital expenditure will be Tk275.40 crore and revenue expenditure only Tk70 lakh.
The Matarbari plant in the Moheshkhali island in the Bay of Bengal is now getting more attention in the government’s policymaking because of the plan to set up a deep sea port there.
The total project cost is Tk36,000 crore. It is now being implemented by the newly-formed state-owned Coal-Power Generation Company Limited as a joint venture with Japan, Germany and Australia.
An official of the Power Division said that the power plant is part of a plan to turn Moheshkhali into a power hub.
The official also said that among three coal-based power plants on the cards, the Matarbari project is getting the top priority from the government. The other two projects are the 275MW plant at Barapukuria and the 1,320MW plant at Rampal.
Power Division Secretary Monowar Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune that starting this year, the government expects to wrap this project up by 2023. “A township will also be developed near the Matarbari power plant,” the secretary said.
In last August, the government approved the project for setting up a deep sea port for handling imported coal for the power plant.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) has already confirmed its financial support for the project and setting up a port at the location.
Jica is financing Tk29,000 crore and the remaining Tk7,000 crore will come from the state coffer and a firm who will do the construction, a Power Division official said.
Another $1bn will be spent to set up a seaport with berthing facilities for large ships. The port will be able to handle 80,000 tonnes of cargo. The project also includes laying a high-voltage 400 kilovolt (KV) power transmission line from Moheshkhali to Anwara, and construction of a road and two bridges from Chakaria up to the project site, the official said.
Some 1,500 acres of land have been acquired for implementing the project. The plant will use the Ultra Super Critical Technology that has a work efficiency of 41.99%.
The other fast lanes of the government are the Padma bridge, the Rampal thermal power plant, Rooppur nuclear power plant, metro rail, deep-sea port at Sonadia in Cox’s Bazar and constructing a liquefied natural gas terminal.
