Govt eyes coal-based power plants

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S M Jahangir
With the availability of adequate volume of natural gas at local level becoming uncertain, the government is now eyeing coal-based power plants to be set up in short and long run.
The government is now working on a long-term master plan for installation of coal-fired power units in the country, giving special emphasis on imported coal to be used as an alternative cost-effective fuel, official sources said.
"A growing uncertainty over the future accessibility of natural gas from internal sources has necessitated the government to review its future plan for raising electricity generation capacity," said a senior Power Division official.
The government, with technical assistance from Japan, will work out a master plan for setting up coal-fired power generation plants in the country, he said.
"A process in underway to carry out a study on 'Coal-based Power Generation in Bangladesh' for a period of next 25 years," the official said.
The Japanese government has already assured Bangladesh of providing necessary funding support for the initiative, he mentioned,
The official further said an agreement to this effect will soon be signed between the governments of Bangladesh and Japan.
The Power Division is brainstorming the proposed study and the authorities will forward it to the Economics Relations Division (ERD) shortly for next course of action.
The ERD has asked the Power Division to complete the necessary formalities in order to facilitate early signing of the agreement, official sources said.
They observed that the government had taken up the initiative to prepare the master plan with a view to ensuring the availability of coal for the country's power generation purpose in the long run.
"Since the supply of natural gas is unlikely to be available for running power units in the near future, there has been an urgent need to prepare an alternative source of fuel," an official said.
Citing experts' opinions, they said the country's present reserve of natural gas might dry up by the year 2015 if new gas fields are not discovered. So, Bangladesh will face immense difficulties to run its power units unless an alternative to such low-cost fuel is available, they observed.
They said Bangladesh will be required to generate at least 4000 megawatt (MW) of electricity within the next five years and another 6000 MW by 2020 in order the cope with its growing demand for the same.
Responding to a query, an official said although Bangladesh has significant reserves of coal, its availability in the near future remains uncertain.
Some foreign companies namely the India's Tata Group and Mittal, UK-based Asia Energy have already submitted proposals to the government for developing coal mines in Bangladesh. Decisions on such proposals are still pending, he said.
The official also said even if the government accepted such proposals, it would take another four to five years to start coal production from such reserves.
Two investment proposals - one has been made by the Tata for developing a coal mine and installation of coal-fired power unit at Barapukuria and another US$ 2.0 billion worth of project by the Asia Energy for coal and coal-fired power unit at Phulbari area - have been awaiting government approval, sources said.