Environmental organisations on Saturday urged the government to scrap the proposed 42.5MW North Dhaka Waste-to-Energy (WtE) Project, arguing that it would impose a heavy financial burden while increasing environmental and public health risks despite generating only a modest amount of electricity.
At a press conference in Dhaka, the Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN), the Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development (BWGED) and the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) described the Tk 5,745 crore project as one of the country's most expensive waste-to-energy initiatives.
The organisations said the project was approved in 2020 under the Special Act without competitive bidding and was formalised through an agreement signed in 2021 between the Power Division, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC). They noted that construction has yet to begin, more than four years after the agreement was signed.
According to the groups, the project will generate only 42.5MW of electricity despite an estimated investment of Tk 57.45 billion (US$467 million).
They said the plant is expected to produce about 316.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually at an 85% plant load factor, with the government committed to purchasing the power at around Tk 26.79 per unit, about 2.5 times the cost of utility-scale solar electricity.
The organisations claimed that if plant utilisation falls, the tariff could rise to between Tk 47 and Tk 75 per unit, while the government would still have to pay an estimated Tk 724 crore annually in capacity charges.
CLEAN Chief Executive Hasan Mehedi said the same investment could instead support around 425MW of solar power, generating nearly 688 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually without fuel costs or harmful emissions.
He also claimed the project's cost per megawatt would be nearly 2.5 times higher than that of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.
The organisations also questioned the transparency of the project's financing.
They said the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (NDB) are each providing US$100 million in loans, while CMEC is investing US$157 million. However, they alleged that the source of the remaining US$110 million has not been publicly disclosed.
According to the groups, the project requires 30 acres of land, including 10 acres acquired from local landowners, some of whom have opposed the acquisition and are yet to receive adequate compensation.
They also claimed that around 2,000 waste pickers could lose their livelihoods, while only 40 have been included in the rehabilitation plan.
The organisations further said the agreement requires DNCC to supply 3,000 tonnes of municipal waste daily. If the required volume is not delivered, DNCC would have to pay a penalty of US$50 per tonne for the waste shortfall.
Since the city currently generates about 2,750 tonnes of waste a day, they argued the agreement could create incentives to generate more waste instead of promoting recycling and waste reduction.
The groups also alleged that the incineration plant would emit significant quantities ash, toxic substances and harmful gases, including nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, carbon monoxide and hydrogen chloride, which are linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers.
They further argued that waste incineration cannot be considered climate-friendly, claiming the proposed plant would emit about 411,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
BELA Policy Coordinator Barish Hasan Chowdhury urged AIIB and NDB to withdraw financing for the project, saying Bangladesh should prioritise renewable energy over costly waste incineration.
The organisations also alleged that AIIB's environmental and social safeguards require meaningful public consultation before project approval, but claimed many affected residents were either not consulted or were consulted only after the project had been approved.
They also criticised a reported proposal to lower the mandatory incineration temperature from 1,000°C to 850°C, arguing that it would weaken environmental safeguards.
Hasan Mehedi and NGO Forum on ADB Executive Director Rayan Hasan said relaxing environmental standards to address the technical limitations of a private company would not serve the public interest.
The organisations called on the government to cancel the project, prioritise waste segregation, recycling, composting and community-based waste management, ensure rehabilitation for affected waste pickers, provide fair compensation to landowners, encourage international financiers to withdraw their support, and redirect investment towards renewable energy.
They said Bangladesh should pursue sustainable waste management and clean energy solutions instead of investing in what they described as an expensive and environmentally harmful waste-to-energy project.
