Why import coal for power station?

The government has taken the initiative to import coal, instead of mining from local coal reserves. A process has started for importing 3.0 million (30 lakh) tonnes of coal per annum for two proposed power plants. Eight countries have been contacted through the ministry of foreign affairs. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is reported to have already given approval for this purpose. One of these power plants will be set up in Khulna as a joint venture with India. The other power plant is to be set up by Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) in Chittagong. The National Committee for Preservation of Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources has opposed the proposal for import of coal for power plants as there is sufficient reserve of coal in the country. The National Committee is of the view that necessary arrangement has to be made for mining of locally available coal. Coal policy needs to be framed immediately. Eight countries have been listed for supply of coal. The countries are Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, China, Canada, Poland, Kazakastan and Vietnam. Coal will be imported from these countries on a long-term basis. The government has reportedly adopted a plan to generate 15,000mw of electricity by 2030 on the basis of coal fired power station. Five coal fields have been discovered in the northern region of the country such as Jamalganj, Barapukuria, Khalashpir, Dighipara and Fulbari. The commercial production of coal has started in Barapukuria since 2004. During the last five years, 29,78,470 tonnes of coal have been mined. In the last fiscal year (FY), 7,30,866 tonnes of coal were produced. There is a plan for producing 6.0 million (60 lakh) tonnes of coal from Barapukuria. This will be possible in the next five years, said a source.When there is a possibility of producing 6.0 million (60 lakh) tonnes of coal from one coal mine, there is no justification for importing 3.0 million (30 lakh) tonnes of coal from abroad. There is no need for any long-term contract for supply of coal from abroad. Efforts will have to be made for increasing production of coal locally because we have the potential for increased production. The government has not even acquired land for the power stations. About the power plant in Khulna, it can be argued that since India is coming as a joint venture partner, it is only logical that they should supply coal as their input and the other costs can be shared by Bangladesh. As a result, our import requirement will go down by 50 per cent. It is the responsibility of the government to negotiate a deal with India. Coal-based power stations may have environmental impact in the surrounding area. Survey work in this regard has not been taken in hand. This work must precede the import of coal. In the draft coal policy, provision has been made in a very clever way for export of goal but the National Committee is against the export of this natural resource. It is also alleged that interest of the foreigners has been protected in the coal policy. The National Committee has also demanded that a separate organisation responsible for proper utilisation of coal must be set up. The government has decided to form a committee to finalise the coal policy. The committee will be announced soon. The first draft of the coal policy was prepared in 2006. Thereafter, the draft was amended eight times. The present government has invited comments on the coal policy through the website. As a follow-up move, the government has decided to set up a national committee. Experts feel that this new committee will have nothing to do. The latest version in the website is acceptable to the experts. The new committee will be killing time. Final decision will have to be taken by the policy-makers. There is a problem in importing coal through Mongla port which has to be used for this purpose. A ship with more than 20 thousand tonnes of coal cannot pass through the channel of the port .This quantity of coal will meet the requirement for two and a half days. A survey of the port has been conducted in this connection. The finding is that deep dredging will be needed for 15 kilometers of the channel. At least, 125 ships carrying 20,000 tonnes of coal each will have to arrive at the Mongla port for meeting the monthly requirement of the project. The National Committee has said that the website is used by few people in the country. If necessary, the coal policy may be decided by a referendum. The government appears to have taken a go-slow attitude towards finalising the coal policy. In the absence of the coal policy, there is a debate as to which method (underground or open pit) will be followed in mining coal. Experts feel that there is no need for import of coal for power stations. It is the responsibility of the government for mining locally available coal. The coal-policy has to be finalised soon. We must be able to meet the power crisis through the use of coal. Dependence on import rather than using our own resources should be avoided in our national interest. This will not only hamper utilisation of local resources but we will also be compelled to squander a very large amount of foreign exchange. Import is an easy solution. Using own resources is a hard job which should be pursued vigorously. Coal has to be extracted in the most beneficial way. (The writer is an economist and columnist. He can be reached at e-mail:syedjamaluddin22@yahoo.com)