Photo : Collected
Matarbari power plant—a dream project with 1200 MW capacity, one of the Prime Minister's priority mega projects, cannot generate power at full capacity due to a lack of transmission infrastructure despite being a cheaper option.
According to the Power Grid Company, as of May 11, only 575 MW of power has been supplied to the national grid from this plant. Normally, the coal-based plant supplies 400-450 MW.
Since the plant can utilise the deep-sea port for directly handling coal from mother vessels, the price per unit is lowest at Tk 8, compared to other coal-based power plants in the country charging Tk 15 to Tk 18 per unit.
Experts blame the weak master plan for creating this crisis. The master plan focused on power generation while neglecting the installation of adequate transmission lines, resulting in the government incurring losses of hundreds of crores.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told the Daily Messenger, “It is true that we had some delays in the work progress, but currently, the transmission project is running in full swing. I hope that by the end of next year, we will be able to supply 1200MW from Matarbari to the national grid.”
Professor Tamim, a prominent energy expert, told the Daily Messenger, “In fact, the projects are operating individually. There is incoherence among the relevant organisations. So, generation plants are rising, but transmission projects are lagging.”
Earlier, another coal-based power plant, Payra, sat idle for two years due to inadequate weak transmission lines that could not supply power to the national grid.
Recently, the country's two mega power plants, Payra and Rampal, were forced to shut down due to a fuel crisis caused by a dollar crisis. Meanwhile, the government has arranged coal to feed Matarbari, but it remains underutilised.
The overall cost of the Matarbari coal-fired power plant is Tk 51,854 crore, with a Tk 43,000 crore loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The deep-sea port construction, excluding the power plant, required nearly Tk 32,000 crore.
The capacity charge, an amount the government must pay to the power plant whether or not electricity is produced, for the Matarbari power plant will be Tk 7.17 per unit, according to the Bangladesh Working (BWGED) analysis.
Petrobangla will require an estimated $450 million (around Tk 45 billion) to import the increased quantity of energy to meet fuel demand in industries and power plants.
The 1,200MW Matarbari coal-fired power plant began partial test operations on July 29, 2023.
Currently, the government is buying coal from Indonesia. Around 400,000 metric tonnes of coal were brought from Indonesia in six ships to feed the power plants.
Another ship is coming at the end of the current month from Indonesia, carrying 67,000 tonnes of coal for the Matarbari Power Plant in Cox's Bazar - the seventh coal carrier brought for this project, said the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA).
According to the CPA, the first coal ship arrived at Matarbari Jetty on April 25. Another vessel carrying coal is scheduled to arrive in October.
The Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited is implementing the 1,200 MW power plant project.
Coal Power Generation Company Executive Director Abul Kalam Azad said that coal ships are coming continuously. The trial production of the power plant started on July 29, 2023.
He also said that the construction of the coal power plant is almost completed. The 400 KV power line has been completed. Commercial production of 1200 MW electricity will start at this power plant from December.
Around 10,000 tonnes of coal will be required per day once production starts, he added. The power plant has a storage capacity of 600,000 tonnes of coal.
The Chattogram Port Authority provides all assistance, including berthing of ships at the power plant jetty. Coal is then unloaded from the ship through a conveyor belt using state-of-the-art technology. Coal discharge from a mother vessel will take at least four days.
Some 118 ships have arrived at the Matarbari jetty so far with cargo and coal for the coal power plant. The port's income from loading and unloading these ships is Tk 9.50 crore.
Messenger/Fameema
