The Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Private Limited (BIFPCL), which was made to operate Rampal power plant, has said that the coal being imported from India will not be used for power generation of the plant.
The coal will be used for coal yard floors. High quality coal will be used for power generation of the power plant, BIFPCL has said further.
BIFPCL on Saturday said in a statement that the news of importing coal from India for power generation of Rampal plant was not true. The fact is that the coal, which is being imported from India will be used only on the coal stockyard floor.
International competitive tenders have already been invited for the import of high quality coal from potential countries like Indonesia, Australia and South Africa as fuel for power generation. Coal will never be imported from India to use as fuel for the power plant, the statement added.
Anwarul Azim, Deputy General Manager (HR & PR) of BIFPCL, told Bangladesh Post that reports of Indian media about import and use of coal is not correct.
It is known that the place where coal is imported from abroad for power generation is called coal yard. The carpet coal (low quality) is used to protect high quality coal, which is using for power generation.
The 1,320-MW Rampal Power Plant is being built by BIFPCL, a joint venture of Bangladesh Power Development Board and India’s NTPC Limited.
Spread over 1,834 acres of land, the power plant is situated at 14km north of Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and an ecologically sensitive area.
Environmentalists had raised voice against the development of the Rampal Power Plant close to the Sundarbans, which is also a UNESCO world heritage site.
The Bangladesh government says 'ultra-super critical technology' will be used in the Rampal power plant to trap harmful sulfur or nitrous particles produced by burning coal. That means it can't pollute the air. Government policymakers also say the Rampal power plant is at least 14 kilometers from the Sundarbans. That is why, the plant will not have any detrimental effect on the Sundarbans.
Power division officials said an international tender was called for the import of coal for Rampal in April this year. International coal suppliers could not participate in the tender due to the Coronavirus situation. That is why the date for submission of tenders has been changed. The last call for tenders will end on July 7. However, the tender was not sold as expected. As a result, the date for submission of tenders is likely to be extended again.
