26,620 tonnes of coal arrive at Mongla

BAGERHAT, June 10 (Agencies): A ship carrying 26,620 tonnes of coal for the Rampal Thermal Power Plant in Bagerhat arrived here from Indonesia.
Chinese flag-carrying 'MV Zhe Hai-526'ship arrived here at Harbaria of the Mongla port early Saturday.
The unloading of the coal from the vessel started around 9:40 am and it is being deposited to the jetty of Rampal Power Plant through a lighterage vessel.
Assistant manager of Shipping Agent Togi Shipping and Logistic Ltd, Khulna, Khandaker Riazul Haque, said the ship carrying the coal left for Mongla on May 27 and anchored at Harbaria-11 in Pashur Channel around 5 am.
The coal will be taken to a coal shed through an automated belt, said Riazul.
On May 16, a total of 30,000 tonnes and 30,500 tonnes of coal arrived at Mongla port by MV Bashundhara Impress and MV Basundhara Majesty, on May 16 and May 29, respectively.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh is currently grappling with an acute power supply crisis, worsened by the suspension of operations at the 1,320 MW Payra power plant, the country's largest, due to a shortage of coal.
Last month, two shipments of 30,000 tonnes and 30,500 tonnes of coal arrived in Mongla for the Rampal plant.
In August 2010, Bangladesh Power Development Board and India's state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation signed an initial deal to build the power plant in Bagerhat's Rampal.
Two years later, on Jan 29, 2012, an agreement was signed with NTPC to build the plant under a joint venture.
The plant has been at the centre of controversy since its inception as environmentalists mounted a strong campaign to address the negative impact the coal-fired plant would have on the nearby Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world.
It has also had to suspend output on several occasions due to coal shortages. Each unit of the plant requires 5,000 tonnes of coal daily to operate.