Wartsila Corporation, a sustainable power solution company based in Finland, sees Bangladesh as a big market for power plant equipment and says it will offer technology at affordable cost with high-efficient engines to overcome power crisis.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Bjorn Rosengren, president and chief executive officer of Wartsila, said they were optimistic about Bangladesh being an expanding business sector for them in the future.
“Our aim is to be a globally recognised leader in liquid fuel and gas power plants. We will promote the smart power generation concept to the increasingly dynamic and environmentally conscious global energy market to enable more sustainable, affordable and reliable power systems,” he said during his first-ever visit to Bangladesh.
“We know that without power, emerging countries like Bangladesh will not be able to achieve its desired growth. Bangladesh plans to double its electricity generation capacity in the next 15 years,” he said.
“Bangladesh has become an important part of us. They have the patience to continue the growth. We hope that they have chances to grow,” he added.
Wartsila’s Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer Marco Wiren, President of Power Plants and Executive Vice-President Rakesh Sarin, and Global Communicator Khan Imran Hossain also accompanied Rosengren on his two-day visit, which started Monday.
The delegates also attended a meeting with key customers and stakeholders in the country’s energy sectors during the visit.
“Wartsila is a global leader in complete life cycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. Globally, we have installed around 55,000MW power generation capacity at 200 locations in 70 countries,” the Wartsila CEO said.
“Wartsila has about 135 employees in Bangladesh, who are not only highly qualified and trained, but also have the highest sense of dedication to provide life cycle support to our customers.
“We have a significant stake in the power plant sector of Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, we installed plants with 2,200MW capacity, and several other plants with 500MW power generation capacity will be installed by the company in the coming days. Approximately 20% of the national grid’s power is being supplied from Wartsila plants. At present, we have 5% business here, out of a total of 4.8 billion euros in 70 countries across the globe,” Rosengren told the Dhaka Tribune.
“Wartsila started its activities in Bangladesh in the early 90s. As its business grew, Wartsila formed a locally incorporated company named Wartsila Bangladesh Limited in 1998 to ensure necessary services to its customers in the country,” said Jillur Rahim, managing director of Wartsila Bangladesh.
Wartsila’s two workshops in Chittagong and Gazipur offer various specialised services to customers, he added.
During the visit, Wartsila also signed a deal with Bangladesh’s Summit Group to supply main equipment in Summit’s two power plants under construction in Narayanganj and Barisal. The plants are expected to generate 180MW of power.
