The coal-fired Rampal power plant in Bagerhat, which has drawn huge criticism for its location near the Sundarbans forest, finally started commercial operation on Saturday night, a decade after the joint venture agreement between Bangladesh and India to establish the station.
The 1320-megawatt two-unit plant, officially known as Maitree Super Thermal Power Project, is now producing 660-megawatt of electricity with its first unit.
"We have started supplying 460MW directly to the national grid through Golpalgonj's Amin Bazar [transmission line] and the rest 200MW to the Khulna-Bagerhat region," said Anwarul Azim, deputy manager of the power plant.
"The construction of the second unit advanced 79.35%. If everything goes well, we will be able to run the unit within June 2023," he told The Business Standard.
"All kinds of technical work has been done considering the environment. We believe that the plant will strengthen the friendship between the two countries and play a vital role in mutual cooperation in the power generation sector," said Syed Ekram Ullah, managing director of Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Limited – the joint venture that owns the power station.
Earlier in November, the power plant started generating electricity on an experimental basis and attained 660MW capacity. The first experimental power generation at unit-1 began on 15 August but halted on 24 October due to cyclone Sitrang. It was also synchronised with the national grid then.
Bangladesh and India jointly initiated the thermal power plant project in 2010 and formed the joint venture company with an agreement in 2012. The Bangladesh Power Development Board and India's National Thermal Power Corporation own a 50% share of the company each.
In October 2013, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of the power station. The plant is being constructed on 1,034 acres of land in the Sapmari-Katakhali and Kairgdashkathi areas of Rampal upazila of Bagerhat district at an estimated cost of Tk16,000 crore.
Meanwhile, local representatives expressed their happiness over the operation of the power plant saying that it helps them get uninterrupted electricity.
"Rampal as well as Bagerhat residents have started getting the benefits of the power plant. We are set to get uninterrupted electricity," said Sheikh Moazzem Hossain, chairman of Rampal Upazila Parishad, said that
"In addition, the station can help grow business centres here and provide jobs to a large number of unemployed people," he told The Business Standard.
