Bangladesh is now manufacturing electric towers for high voltage transmission lines. Officials said that concerned manufacturers are already capable of making such tower having capacity of up to 765 Kilovolt or KV transmission line.
Sources said there was a time when Bangladesh was dependent on Korea, China and India to import steel galvanized towers for the construction of these electric lines. Many of the transmission lines that Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) has built through international tenders in the last 10 years have been built by foreign contractors buying towers manufactured in Bangladesh.
The transmission lines (230 kV) stretching from Barisal to Bhola, 132 kV line from Ishwardi substation to Rooppur nuclear power plant, 400 kV line from Ashuganj power station to Bhulta substation, 230kv line to provide back up power line from Patuakhali substation to Payra thermal power plant, the 400 KV line tower from Payra Power Station to Gopalganj sub-station all were constructed in Bangladesh.
It also designed 175 meter high tower for another 230 kV line installed across the Meghna River by a Korean Company (with the contribution of the PGCB-Design Department), which is the second tallest tower in the country.
Bangladesh can now be proud to claim that the country's tallest tower - 184 meters or about 604 feet, which is being used for transmission line from Ashuganj to Bhulta over the Meghna River, is completely homemade.
Currently, three local companies are building high-capacity steel towers for power and telecommunications sector. The companies are: Confidence Steel Limited or 'Confidence Infrastructure', Global Steel Limited and Atlanta Steel Limited.
Under the Cox's Bazar Railway Project, PGCB is constructing a new line from Dohazari to Cox's Bazar with shifting of the existing 132 KV line. Confidence Steel and Basic-Desh (Atlanta) is working there as turnkey basis.
India's Trans rail Lighting Limited is constructing a 400 kV line to transmit imported electricity from Rohanpur to Monaksha (Chapainawabganj) substation. The project is under PGCB.
Global Steel Limited of Bangladesh is constructing the tower for this. At present, the 400 kV line from Amin Bazar to Mongla over the Padma is being constructed with the funding of the Asian Development Bank. In this Bangladeshi tower is being used from Amin Bazar to Gopalganj section.
Foreign turnkey based contractors are building lines using locally made high voltage towers, which is saving huge foreign exchange. On the other hand, if any complication occurs during the construction work, it is going to be resolved quickly. Bangladesh survives in competition with foreign tower manufacturers not only in terms of price but also in terms of quality.
