A massive amount of unsold coal has been lying idle at the Barapukuria coal mine, despite attempts by the authorities concerned to attract buyers by reducing coal price in three phases over the last eight months,
The stockpile of coal has now reached around 4 lakh tonnes at the Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Ltd (BCMCL), as authorities concerned had failed to sell its coal since August last year despite reducing coal price from Tk12,600 to Tk9,200 per tonne to boost sale.
“Around 4 lakh tonnes of coal have remained stacked up at the coal stockyard. We could not sell them during the peak season [August-December] because of political unrest,” BCMCL Managing Director Md Aminuzzaman told the Dhaka tribune on Friday.
“We have reduced coal price to attract buyers,” he said, urging consumers to use the coal from the Barapukuria mine.
The mine had been producing around 5,000 tonnes of coal, when production was halted on March 8 for regular maintenance, which is scheduled to continue until April 20. There would be no other option but to shut down the mine if the coal in stock cannot be sold within April 20, said Aminuzzaman.
Buyers, however, have urged the mine authorities to keep the price around Tk8,000 per tonne, claiming that every tonne of imported Indian coal was being sold for Tk7,000.
An official of the BCMCL said Indian coal contained high levels of sulphur that causes air pollution, compared to minimal sulphur in the Barapukuria coal.
Md Aminuzzaman said the stockyard was currently holding twice the amount of coal compared to its 2 lakh tonne capacity.
The Power Development Board (PDB), which is the largest coal consumer of the mine, procures 80% of the coal for use at the only coal-fired power plant near the mine. The 250MW plant, which needs around 2,500 tonnes of coal every day, currently has more than one lakh tonnes in its stockyard.
Some steel mills and heavy industries, and brickfields also buy coal from the BCMCL, with brick kiln owners purchasing coal between August and December every year. However, they could not collect coal during the period last year because of countrywide hartals and blockades enforced by the BNP-led alliance.
