The government is preparing to set up the country’s first waste-based power generation company that will take recycled garbage and turn it into green energy.
Despite repeated attempts to set up solid waste-fuelled power plants in the country over the last 15 years, the ruling Awami League government has not been able to execute its ambitious plan due to the negligence of the authorities concerned and political rivalries.
“This will be the country’s first ever waste based-power generation company. The division had already directed the Power Development Board (PDB) to prepare a memorandum of association (MOA) and articles of association (AOA) required to form the company,” the director general of the Power Cell, a state-owned entity under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Mohammad Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
He said a meeting will be held at the Prime Minister’s Office in this regard tomorrow.
“The legal infrastructure for setting up the company under the Power Division is being prepared and it will be registered with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms,” he said.
The Power Division official said the government is also planning to form a company to conduct the operations and maintenance of public and private power plants and the activation of two new distribution companies – South Zone Power Distribution Company and North-west Zone Power Distribution Company.
A new distribution company – the Central Zone Power Distribution Company – will also be formed and the 740MW Ghorasal power plant will be transformed into a corporation.
The AL-led government in November 2011 initiated the setting up of two solid waste-fuelled power plants in the capital in a bid to ease electricity shortages.
During its tenure in 2000, the AL government ambitiously planned to set up a solid waste-fulled power plant in the capital jointly with three private companies at a cost of Tk3,096 crore.
Later in 2013, an Italian firm, Management Environment Finance SEL Ltd, signed an agreement with the Local Government Division, Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka South City Corporation to build two 50 megawatt power plants. But there has been no progress in the power projects.
