A government agency has made a move to develop more land at Rampal for building a second thermal power plant although the first one of 1,320-megawatt seems trapped in complexities and complaints.
Officials said Friday the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) planned to spend Tk 5.41 billion on land development, and construction of the protection and boundary walls for the second block of Rampal power plant.
"We recently sent a Tk 5.41 billion project proposal to the Planning Commission. If approved, we will start land-development work on the Rampal power-generation-project site," said a BPDB official.
Meanwhile, the Planning Commission (PC) has expressed its reservation on the land-development project at Rampal and the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (BIFPC) Limited was yet to start installation work on its first 1,320MW coal-fired power plant.
"The proposed land-development project does not have any feasibility study. It has not even been included in the cost-benefit ratio and internal rate of return for the project," said a PC official.
Furthermore, the project proposal failed to describe the purpose of the land development properly, he told the FE, requesting anonymity.
The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) of India and the Bangladesh government-owned BPDB formed joint-venture company BIFPC in January 2012 for installing the coal-fired power plant at Rampal, close by the Sunderbans mangrove-forest range.
But it has yet to start installation works due to fund crisis, apart from the procedural complexities and protests by green campaigners.
According to BPDB sources, they have already developed 918.5 acres of land out of total 1,834 acres acquired in Rampal for setting up the first 1320MW power station by BIFPC.
The official said while the first 1,320MW unit was still struggling for implementation delays, injecting huge public funds into land development for a non-specified purpose in the same place would amount to "waste of money".
Meanwhile, the PC recently declined to approve BIFPC's Tk 145.84 billion Rampal power project due to complexities over its funding and ownership.
Last year, the Power Division sent a Tk 145.84 billion (US$1.82 billion) project proposal to the PC for getting its approval. Construction of the plant was to begin in the financial year (FY) 2009-10 for completion in FY2019.
The PC sent back the project proposal, seeking clarification on funding arrangement and the status of company ownership.
The commission has informed that since the Rampal 1,320MW plant will be set up by a newly formed India-Bangladesh joint-venture private limited company, as per the government rules and regulations, approval for the project is beyond its purview, Power Division officials said.
Another PC official said: "The government's Tk5.41 billion funds for developing the 2nd block at the Rampal power station will not be included in the equity of the BPDB. So, why the government should provide funds for the land development for a private limited company."
Meanwhile, Bangladeshi environmental activists and development experts oppose tooth and nail construction of the Rampal power plant due to possible environmental damage to the world's largest mangrove forest-the Sundarbans, a UN-recognized universal heritage site. The distance of the proposed Rampal coal-based power plant from the Sundarbans is just 14 kilometres.
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