Bangladesh has signed a US$177m additional financing agreement with the International Development Association (IDA) to complete the ongoing construction of a 335-megawatt combined cycle power plant at Siddhirganj, near Dhaka.
The additional financing to the Siddhirganj Power Project will help increase clean, reliable and low-cost electricity supply in Bangladesh, said a press release issued by World Bank yesterday.
The agreement was signed yesterday by Kazi Shofiqul Azam and Iffath Sharif, on behalf of Bangladesh government and the World Bank respectively at the Economic Relations Division. The credit from IDA has a 38-year term, including a 6-year grace period, and a service charge of 0.75% percent.
In the face of increasing power demand and gas shortages, the government decided to convert the peaking power plant to an energy-efficient a 335-megawatt combined cycle power plant and the additional financing will fill the financing gap for constructing the power plant, it said.
In 2008, the World Bank provided $350m to construct a 300-megawatt gas turbine power plant in Siddhirganj.
“This additional financing will add much-needed new power generation capacity for Bangladesh. This financing will contribute to the World Bank’s current support to the energy sector, raising it to over $1.5bn,” said Iffath Sharif, acting World Bank country director.
The combined cycle technology allows the plant to produce higher energy with lower gas consumption and the cleaner technology reduces carbon emission.
The power plant will account for 6% of the total electricity delivered to the national grid, which will tart commercial operation in 2016.
