The Banshkhali 1,320 MW coal-fired power plant in Chattogram has been connected to the national grid, which is the country’s first mega power project in private sector.
However, the power plant will go into commercial operation in April next. To this end, the commissioning of the plant will begin on Monday.
The Banshkhali power plant —SS Power 1, located in Gondamara area of Banshkhali upazila near the Bay of Bengal is one of the most significant joint ventures between Bangladesh and China, with the S Alam Group holding 70% of ownership. Chinese company SEPCO3 is 30% ownership of the plant. It is one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the country.
Morshed Alam Khan, Chief Engineer of Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Limited-PGCB on Saturday switched on the power plant and connected it with the national grid.
He said that 97 percent of the project's construction is complete. The remaining work includes construction of roads and drains, which will be done soon.
SS power plant director Shahidul Alam has claimed that there is no fear of environmental pollution due to use of supercritical technology. This technology can produce more power with less coal.
According to sources, the SS Power 1 power plant will run on imported coal, most of which will be bought from Indonesia, but if necessary, coal will be imported from Australia. A large jetty has been built on the adjacent beach to unload coal.
The power plant is being built on 606 acres of land in the Gandamara union of Banshkhali since 2015. It will generate electricity in two units, each with a capacity of 660 MW. 198 power line poles have been installed for the transmission line from Banshkhali to Madunaghat in Chattogram to supply the electricity generated.