Bangladesh and India sign agreement for joint coal fired power plant

• Bangladesh and India signed a landmark deal for the construction of a 1,320 megawatt coal fired power plant.
• This power plant is the biggest project under bilateral cooperation that would mark the transition from electricity export to generation level.
• Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (Pvt) Limited (BIFPCL), the joint venture enterprise inked the deal with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), which was selected under an open international tender for constructing the super thermal plant at Bangladesh's southwestern Rampal near the Sundarbans.
• Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company (BIFPCL), a 50:50 joint venture between Indian power generation major NTPC and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), invited bids for the coal-fired thermal power plant. BHEL was the lowest bidder among all.
• India's Exim Bank will provide $1.49 billion for the project which is scheduled to start generating power in 2019.
• However, there are some concerns by environmental groups that the the plant could affect the delicate ecosystem of the world's largest mangrove forest, spreading over both Bangladesh and India.

About Rampal Power Station

• The Rampal Power Station is a proposed 1320 megawatt coal-fired power station at Rampal Upazila of Bagerhat District in Khulna, Bangladesh.
• This project is on an area of over 1834 acres of land, is situated 14 kilometres north of the world's largest mangrove forest Sundarbans which is a UNESCO world heritage site
• The project will be Bangladesh’s largest power plant.
• BIFPLC will fund 30 percent of the project cost and the rest will come from the contractor in the form of loans.
• The plant will generate electricity by burning close to 4.72 million tonnes of imported coal every year.
• The proposed power plant will have two units of 660MW that will generate power for local consumption, as nearly 40 percent of the population does not have access to electricity.
• This plant is being built as per the international standards and it will not pose any social and environmental risks.

By: Vishal