The Power Development Board has recommended that a 3000MW — Bangladesh’s largest — power plant worth Tk25,000 crore be set up at Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazaar.
Originally proposed by Reliance Power, a subsidiary of the large Indian conglomerate owned by the Ambanis, the liquefied natural gas fired plant will be the first of its kind here. None of the planned coal-based power plants exceed 1320MW.
The Power Division sought the opinion of the Power Development Board (PDB) after Reliance placed the proposed in October, 2014.
“They wanted 180 acres on lease for 22 years. We discussed their proposal at our board meeting and will send our opinion to the Power Division tomorrow (Wednesday),” PDB Member (Company Affairs) Md. Shamsul Hassan Miah told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
“The Power Division will take the final decision in this regard,” he said. “They will build a 2250MW plant in the first phase and another 750MW will be added in the second phase.”
Reliance’s proposes that the plant be operated on a BOO (build-own-operate) scheme for 22 years selling each unit of power at Tk8.44. The plant itself is expected to take three years to build.
Reliance estimates that the full project would cost over $3 billion at about $1.04 million for every megawatt of production capacity.
Reliance is currently developing 13 power projects with a combined capacity of 28,200MW, which is one of the largest power generation portfolios in India.
The state-owned North-West Power Generation Co Ltd is planning a 750MW-850MW re-gasified LNG-based power plant in Khulna.
MPC-Bangla Power, a joint venture of Meiya Power Company and Trade Matrix Venture, will also build a 1,075MW LNG-based plant at Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar.
