Saudi co inks MoU with BPDB to build gas-fired power plant

Saudi Arabia-based company ACWA Power signed on Thursday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board to build a natural gas or liquefied natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant.

The proposed power plant might be set up at Moheshkhali or any other suitable location in the country and its capacity would be determined after a feasibility study on power demand and system requirement.

There might be a joint venture between BPDB and ACWA or the Saudi company itself might implement it as independent power producers' plant under build, own and operate basis.

BPDB chairman Khaled Mahmood and ACWA Power's chairman Mohammad Abunayyan inked the MoU at a city hotel.

Prime Minister's adviser on private industry and investment Salman F Rahman attended the signing ceremony as the chief guest while state minister for the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid as the special guest.

Speaking on the occasion, the PM's adviser stressed the need for building this power plant within the shortest possible time to meet the country's mounting electricity demand.

Mr Hamid said the country will require investment of around US$30 billion within next few years to achieve the goals of Vision 2041.

The country's power sector already bagged investment worth around $22 billion over the past five years which helped augmenting the country's overall generation capacity from around 3,000 megawatt to around 20,000 MW, he added.

Of the investment, Chinese firms already invested around $7.0 billion in last several years. Also, around $20 billion investment from China is in the pipeline.

Japan has made investment worth around $6.0 billion in the form of debt and investment, he said, adding that Japan is investing in a big way to develop the country's first-ever deep-sea energy port by 2024-25.

Singapore's Sembcorp invested around $500 million.

Chevron is the lion investor in hydrocarbon sector while ExxonMobil, Shell is coming up for further investments, the state minister said.

Earlier, another Saudi Arabian firm Alfanar inked a separate MoU with another state-owned company Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh at Sonagazi in Feni district to implement a 100MW solar power plant. Senior secretary of Power Division Dr Ahmad Kaikaus also spoke on this occasion.

Azizjst@yahoo.com