360mw Bheramara plant set to operate by FY 2014
Monday, 7 June 2010
FHM Humayan Kabir
The government's key electricity generation project Bheramara 360-megawatt plant is likely to get the higher body's approval tomorrow for constructing it by June 2014, officials said Sunday.
Planning ministry officials said they would place the Tk 42.14-billion Bheramara scheme before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) Tuesday for getting endorsement.
The state-owned North-West Power Generation Company Limited will set up the gas-based 360mw combined cycle power station by June 2014 at Bheramara, termed crucial for the gas-starved south-western (SW) Bangladesh.
"After getting the approval, we will start to implement the project from early next financial year," a senior power division official told the FE.
"It will be a very important electricity generation project. After commissioning of the plant, it will not only supply electricity to the western region but to the whole country," said the official.
He said the Japanese donor agency --Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) --would provide nearly Tk 32.21 billion fund while the rest Tk 9.93 billion would come from the government.
At the initial stage of the project being undertaken, the North-West Power Generation Company may face difficulties due to the alarmingly low gas supply by the state-run energy corporation Petrobangla.
Petrobangla said they would not be able to provide gas to the proposed Bheramara project due to sharp depletion of the country's recoverable natural gas reserves after 2013.
JICA has asked the government to confirm gas supply to the proposed Bheramara project and shut down the existing worn-out and inefficient gas-fired power units to divert gas to the proposed 360mw plant.
"We've agreed to their recommendations. The government has already undertaken a project to supply gas to the south-west region. Given this fact, they proposed for the Bheramara power plant getting adequate gas supply before its inauguration in FY2014," the power division official said.
State-owned energy corporation Petrobangla has recently taken a proj -ect for laying an 845-kilometre pipeline investing Tk 5.9 billion to supply gas to the country's south-western region by FY2013.
A JICA official in Dhaka said they had completed a feasibility study for the power project. "Due to shortage of gas, the study has proposed to set up a 360mw plant instead of the earlier planned 450mw one."
The 360mw combined cycle power plant at Bheramara in Kushtia will consume nearly 55-million cubic feet (mmcfd) of gas per day.
The power division official said they had a plan to scrap some outdated power units as their efficiency has declined drastically. "If we can do so, gas from those rundown plants can be diverted to the proposed Bheramara power station."
The government's key electricity generation project Bheramara 360-megawatt plant is likely to get the higher body's approval tomorrow for constructing it by June 2014, officials said Sunday.
Planning ministry officials said they would place the Tk 42.14-billion Bheramara scheme before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) Tuesday for getting endorsement.
The state-owned North-West Power Generation Company Limited will set up the gas-based 360mw combined cycle power station by June 2014 at Bheramara, termed crucial for the gas-starved south-western (SW) Bangladesh.
"After getting the approval, we will start to implement the project from early next financial year," a senior power division official told the FE.
"It will be a very important electricity generation project. After commissioning of the plant, it will not only supply electricity to the western region but to the whole country," said the official.
He said the Japanese donor agency --Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) --would provide nearly Tk 32.21 billion fund while the rest Tk 9.93 billion would come from the government.
At the initial stage of the project being undertaken, the North-West Power Generation Company may face difficulties due to the alarmingly low gas supply by the state-run energy corporation Petrobangla.
Petrobangla said they would not be able to provide gas to the proposed Bheramara project due to sharp depletion of the country's recoverable natural gas reserves after 2013.
JICA has asked the government to confirm gas supply to the proposed Bheramara project and shut down the existing worn-out and inefficient gas-fired power units to divert gas to the proposed 360mw plant.
"We've agreed to their recommendations. The government has already undertaken a project to supply gas to the south-west region. Given this fact, they proposed for the Bheramara power plant getting adequate gas supply before its inauguration in FY2014," the power division official said.
State-owned energy corporation Petrobangla has recently taken a proj -ect for laying an 845-kilometre pipeline investing Tk 5.9 billion to supply gas to the country's south-western region by FY2013.
A JICA official in Dhaka said they had completed a feasibility study for the power project. "Due to shortage of gas, the study has proposed to set up a 360mw plant instead of the earlier planned 450mw one."
The 360mw combined cycle power plant at Bheramara in Kushtia will consume nearly 55-million cubic feet (mmcfd) of gas per day.
The power division official said they had a plan to scrap some outdated power units as their efficiency has declined drastically. "If we can do so, gas from those rundown plants can be diverted to the proposed Bheramara power station."