Bids on big power plant schemes by June 2010
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
M Azizur Rahman
The government has planned to invite bids by June next year for installation of several large power plants to generate 4,000 megawatts of electricity with a goal to initiate production by 2015 next, officials said Tuesday.
"We are preparing relevant documents and have planned to float tenders for all the power plant projects by June 2010," power secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad told the FE Tuesday.
He said the tender would be floated in phases within the timeframe from January to June next year.
This would be the incumbent government's second leg of bidding to generate electricity after floating of tenders in September last to install 18 diesel and furnace oil-fired power plants to generate 1360mw of electricity on 'fast-track' basis.
Awarding of these fuel-run power plants has not yet completed.
The power secretary said all the large power plant projects that were put on offer before the foreign firms during the recently-held raod show in London would be tendered under the planned programme.
The power plant projects include Bibiyana 300-450 megawatt (mw) second unit, Meghnaghat 300-450mw dual fuel combined cycle unit, Bhola 150-225mw combined cycle second unit, Savar peaking power plant and Kaliakoir peaking plant -- each having 100mw genration capacity and imported coal-based steam plant of 2000-2600 mw.
Private sector foreign entrepreneurs, especially those having experience to generate large-scale power plants, would be encouraged to take part in the bidding, a senior power ministry official said.
The selected bidder would build these power plants on build own operate (BOO) and investments worth $4.0 billion would be required for implementing these projects.
"We will seek bids for some of the power plant projects immediately, and the remaining ones afterwards," said the power secretary.
The coal-based power plants would be put on offer in the last phase.
"We will send the detailed plan over the floating of tenders for these plants to the Prime Minsiter for final approval shortly," said Mr Azad.
"We are planning to float tenders for at least one of the power plant projects before the onset of our next round of road shows abroad," said Power Development Board chairman ASM Alamgir Kabir.
That might be either the Bibiyana 300-450mw second unit, Meghnaghat 300-450mw dual fuel combined cycle unit or Bhola 150-225mw combined cycle second unit, he added.
The remaining road shows will be held on January 25-26 in Singapore and January 27-28 in New York.
Once all these power plants come into operation, the country's overall electricity generation would be around 9,000mw from the current generation of around 3800 mw.
The Awami League government has pledged to increase electricity generation to 5,000mw by 2011 and to 7,000mw by 2013.
Energy experts said the country has long been experiencing severe power outages under pressure from its burgeoning economy, which has been growing at an annual rate of around six per cent over the last five years.
The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank say the acute power shortfall has been a big drag on the country's bid to attain double-digit growth.
Frequent power outages, along with low voltage, are currently hampering badly the industrial production, barring the growth potential of the national economy.
The government has planned to invite bids by June next year for installation of several large power plants to generate 4,000 megawatts of electricity with a goal to initiate production by 2015 next, officials said Tuesday.
"We are preparing relevant documents and have planned to float tenders for all the power plant projects by June 2010," power secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad told the FE Tuesday.
He said the tender would be floated in phases within the timeframe from January to June next year.
This would be the incumbent government's second leg of bidding to generate electricity after floating of tenders in September last to install 18 diesel and furnace oil-fired power plants to generate 1360mw of electricity on 'fast-track' basis.
Awarding of these fuel-run power plants has not yet completed.
The power secretary said all the large power plant projects that were put on offer before the foreign firms during the recently-held raod show in London would be tendered under the planned programme.
The power plant projects include Bibiyana 300-450 megawatt (mw) second unit, Meghnaghat 300-450mw dual fuel combined cycle unit, Bhola 150-225mw combined cycle second unit, Savar peaking power plant and Kaliakoir peaking plant -- each having 100mw genration capacity and imported coal-based steam plant of 2000-2600 mw.
Private sector foreign entrepreneurs, especially those having experience to generate large-scale power plants, would be encouraged to take part in the bidding, a senior power ministry official said.
The selected bidder would build these power plants on build own operate (BOO) and investments worth $4.0 billion would be required for implementing these projects.
"We will seek bids for some of the power plant projects immediately, and the remaining ones afterwards," said the power secretary.
The coal-based power plants would be put on offer in the last phase.
"We will send the detailed plan over the floating of tenders for these plants to the Prime Minsiter for final approval shortly," said Mr Azad.
"We are planning to float tenders for at least one of the power plant projects before the onset of our next round of road shows abroad," said Power Development Board chairman ASM Alamgir Kabir.
That might be either the Bibiyana 300-450mw second unit, Meghnaghat 300-450mw dual fuel combined cycle unit or Bhola 150-225mw combined cycle second unit, he added.
The remaining road shows will be held on January 25-26 in Singapore and January 27-28 in New York.
Once all these power plants come into operation, the country's overall electricity generation would be around 9,000mw from the current generation of around 3800 mw.
The Awami League government has pledged to increase electricity generation to 5,000mw by 2011 and to 7,000mw by 2013.
Energy experts said the country has long been experiencing severe power outages under pressure from its burgeoning economy, which has been growing at an annual rate of around six per cent over the last five years.
The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank say the acute power shortfall has been a big drag on the country's bid to attain double-digit growth.
Frequent power outages, along with low voltage, are currently hampering badly the industrial production, barring the growth potential of the national economy.