The first unit of 1320MW coal-fired thermal Payra power plant started commercial operation, taking the country's installed power capacity to 19,630 megawatts.
The 660MW unit of the power plant went into commercial operation on May 14 at 5.30pm, utilising the recently-commissioned 400kV Payra–Gopalganj power transmission line, an official told the Bangladesh Post.
Bangladesh-China Power Company Ltd (BCPCL), a joint venture of Bangladesh’s North-West Power Generation Company Ltd (NWPGCL) and China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC), are constructing the power plant with two units at Dhankhali, Kalapara in Patuakhali.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid thanked the NWPGCL officials for successfully starting commercial operation of the country’s first mega power plant.
Earlier on January 13, the unit-1, first mega power plant in the country, started operating on trial.
Officials said the power from the Payra plant will be now transmitted to the southern region of the country by shutting down some costly liquid fuel-fired generation units in Khulna and other adjoining districts.
Construction of the plant started on Mar 30, 2016 with around 98 percent works nearly done.
The government has allocated 998.77 acres of land in Patuakhali district to the NWPGCL for implementing the project on a turnkey basis by using eco-friendly ultra-super critical technology.
The power plant is being built with financial support from China’s Exim Bank. The Framework Financial Agreement of USD 1.984 billion for the Power Plant between the CEXIM and BCPCL was signed on October 14, 2016.
The power plant would require around 12,000 tonnes of coal daily to generate electricity. BCPCL already has imported coal from Indonesia to run the power plant.
On the other hand, Bangladesh Power Generation Company has erected 400 kV power transmission line extending from Payra to Gopalganj, which has been successfully commissioned at the end of last month. The main objective of the line is to create necessary facilities to evacuate power from Payra 1320 MW Power Plant.
Bangladesh had not imported large quantities of coal earlier as its major requirement was being met by the country's lone-operational Barapukuria coal mine. The mine has an annual capacity to extract around 1.0 million tons of coal.
The Payra coal-fired power plant would be the first to be run on imported coal.
The second unit of the plant was likely to start operation in next June but it will be delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Currently, Bangladesh has three coal-fired power plants with a total capacity of only 524MW.
