Cabinet purchase body approves bid for 150mw power project

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The government's Purchase Committee Wednesday approved a Chinese company's bid for supply and installation of a 150MW combined-cycle power plant in Chandpur, reports UNB.
In a meeting with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair the cabinet committee also approved another 9 purchase proposals for the import of non-urea fertilizers and 10 locomotive engines.
The 150MW Chandpur plant will have a simple-cycle 100MW gas turbine and a 50MW steam-turbine machine.
As a turnkey contractor, China Chengda Engineering Co. Ltd will construct the power plant at a cost of Tk 10.05 billion (1005 crore) (US$ 144.60 million) for the state-owned Power Deve-
lopment Board (PDB).
The Chinese company won the bid in a re-tender invited by the PDB.
As per terms of the contract, the Chinese company will have to supply, install and commission the combined-cycle unit within 650 days and the simple unit within 450 days or 15 months from the signing of contract.
PDB officials hope that the simple-cycle unit will come into operation before end of 2011.
Sources are, however, skeptical about the plant's implementation as per schedule as there is gas shortage.
They said though the government moved to implement the project, but Petrobangla is yet to confirm the gas supply.
Only it assured that the Chandpur project would get priority if gas is available for supply. It also suggested to the PDB to convert the plant into a dual-fuel one.