The foundation stones of seven coal-fired power plants, located in different parts of the country, with combined capacity of generating 3,239 megawatt electricity in the private sector were laid on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stones at the Bangabandhu International Convention Centre in the capital, although the power plants are yet to have visible progress at the sites.
The premier on Tuesday also inaugurated the National Electricity Week and launched the SMS Bill Payment System of Palli Bidyut Samity by receiving bills from a consumer of Gazipur.
The government celebrated the occasion through spectacular fireworks and laser shows at Hatirjheel in the city.
“Bangladesh is now capable of generating 10,213MW electricity. By December, this will rise to 10,289MW. By January, an additional 770MW power will be added to the national grid,” the prime minister said.
“We will be able to build a developed Bangladesh by increasing the power supply within 2021.
“When our government took over, electricity production was merely 4,942MW. But the capacity has been doubled in the last five years,” she said.
About the mobile billing system, the premier said the system would make paying bills easier for consumers. “This is called digital Bangladesh, something that we have been trying to gift the people.”
Orion Group will build five power plants at Munshiganj, Khulna, Dhaka and Chittagong with a capacity of 2,351MW, while S Alam Group will implement two others with a total capacity of 888MW in Chittagong.
