State-owned Ashuganj Power Station Company Ltd has planned to set up a 1,320MW coal-based power plant at the mouth of Barapukuria coal mine in Dinajpur.
The government is also conducting an extensive survey at the country’s lone coal mine, now producing coal through underground method, to assess the possibility of extracting coal through controversial open-pit mining to feed the plant.
“We have opted for shifting focus from gas to coal due to crisis of primary source of energy. To meet the growing demand of electricity, we have planned to establish the coal-based power plant at Barapukuria,” Ashuganj Power Station Managing Director Md Nurul Alam told the Dhaka Tribune.
The plant is likely to be set up at the northern part of Barapukuria and may take five years to complete the construction.
At present, a 250MW coal-fired power plant is in operation beside the mine. The state-owned PDB will set up another 250MW coal-based plant adjacent to the spot.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already given her consent to build the proposed power plant,” he said. Feasibility study and environmental impact assessment (EIA) would be conducted too.
The government in 2006 had to shelve a project of extracting coal through open-caste mining introduced by Asia Energy (now known as GCM Plc). The project was stopped in the face of protests that saw three people killed since law enforcers opened fire on them. Then BNP-Jamaat government also agreed with the protesters to cancel the licence of Asia Energy and never using open-pit mining in Bangladesh.
But after coming to power in 2009, the Awami League-led government has been working to popularise open-pit coal mining in Dinajpur despite massive protests from locals, rights activists and international experts as they fear such mining would destroy the underground water table, agriculture and habitat of thousands of people.
According to the government’s power sector roadmap, the country will generate around 20,000MW of electricity from coal-based power plants by 2030. Of this, 11,250MW would be generated using domestic coal while the rest from imported coal.
A top official of Petrobangla said water modelling and hydro-geological survey were being conducted at the Barapukuria site to determine the flow of underground water for extracting coal through open-pit mining method.
“A report on the survey will be completed by this month and a decision will be made in favour of open-pit mining,” he said.
Construction of the plant and extracting coal through open-pit mining will require at least five years.
