The government has a plan to set up 20 more power stations with a total of 22,052-megawatt (MW) electricity generation capacity, reports BSS.
The plan has been taken with the view to raising the total power generation capacity to 24,000MW by the year 2021 from the existing 16,046MW.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told this to the news agency.
"The government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is pledge-bound to make "Digital Bangladesh" by ensuring access to power for all citizens by 2021," he noted.
The government will supply electricity to off grid areas through solar power system so that all people get power by the target year, he stated.
"We have a target to generate 40,000MW power by 2030 and 60,000MW by 2041," he mentioned.
"Currently, about 90 per cent of the country's area and 90 per cent households get electricity connections. Its coverage should be expanded further," he added.
Earlier, Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith in his budget speech said that there is no alternative to achieving economic prosperity as per target.
He said currently, installation of a total of 59 power plants having the capacity of generating 15,205MW of electricity is underway.
A process is going on to install 23 power plants with a capacity of generating 4,440MW, Muhith said.
"In near future, we have a plan to install 20 more power plants having capacity to generate 22,052MW of electricity," he said.
Alongside, installation of new power plants and maintenance of old power ones to enhance their efficiency are in progress," the finance minister mentioned in the budget speech.
Besides gas and coal-fired power plants, the first phase of installing nuclear power plants with capacity to generate 2,400MW of electricity, is expected to be completed soon, Muhith added.
The nuclear power plant is being built at Rooppur in Pabna with support from Russia.
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