State-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) Thursday inked deals to purchase around 200 megawatt (MW) of electricity for 15 years from a furnace oil-fired power plant of Desh Energy Chandpur Power Company Ltd.
The plant, to be located in Chandpur, is expected to be commissioned by May 9 this year.
Power Division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) selected the contractor to build the power plant under the 'Speedy Supply of Power and Energy (Special Provision) Act 2010' bypassing the tendering process.
Desh Energy is a private power company owned by deceased mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation Annisul Haque. The company runs two more power plants.
Annisul Haque's son Navidul Haque, who is now the managing director of the company, signed the contract with government and also with the BPDB for implementation of the project.
The cabinet committee on public purchase on August 9 last year approved the power plant along with several others to generate a total of 1,768 MW of electricity by 2018.
The power purchase agreement (PPA) was signed by the BPDB secretary Mina Masuduzzaman and managing director of Desh Energy Chandpur Power Company Ltd Navidul Huq.
The implementation agreement (IA) over the project was inked among the Desh Energy Chandpur Power Company Ltd, Power Division and state-run Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Ltd (PGCB).
The BPDB would purchase electricity from the power plant at a levelised tariff rate of 10.65 US Cents.
The government had to undertake the fast track projects to cope up with the mounting demand for electricity, said State Minister for MPEMR Nasrul Hamid, who was the chief guest at the deal signing ceremony.
The electricity demand is currently increasing by 3,000 MW per year, which was predicted to be 1,000 MW per year, he said.
Navidul Haque said that it was a project of his father's dream, which the company is committed to implement as per schedule.
"Despite my father's death, we continued our efforts to implement the project as per the given time frame," he added.
Power Division secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus and BPDB chairman Khaled Mahmood also spoke on the occasion where top officials of the BPDB, Power Division and Desh Energy were present.
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