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Nov 24, 20235 min read

Dhaka South 42.5 MW (Canves) WTE Power Plant

Current Status: Proposed

(Image Source: The Business Standard)


Dhaka South 42.5 MW WTE Power Plant, also known as Matuail Waste-to-Energy Power Plant, is a proposed power plant to be situated in Matuail on the South side of Dhaka–Chittagong Highway and on the North side of Dhaka-Sylhet Highway in Dhaka District of Bangladesh (Location: 23.7197, 90.4514). The power plant was proposed by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and some 6 proposals from different companies are waiting for a final decision for implementation. The power plant is to be installed as a private Independent Power Producer (IPP) for 20 years.


Capacity

The proposed installed capacity of Matuail WTE Power Plant is 42.5 MW.


Context

In 2012, Power Division signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Management Environment Finance Srl, an Italian company, to set up a WTE power plant in Dhaka (Bangla Tribune 2021). The Local Government Division under the Local Government Division (LGD) under the Ministry of Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives (MOLGRDCO) also signed an agreement with the company to set up a WTE power plant with capacity of 48 MW which will increase to 100 MW gradually. The project was shelved after the company declared itself bankrupt in 2015 (Shitu 2017).


After failing the initiative, DNCC, DSCC, Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC) and Dhaka Electric Power Supply Company Limited (DESCO) took a plan in 2015 to form Waste Power Generation Company Limited (WPGC) to run the project (Shitu 2016). The plan was scrapped due to lack of coordination between the agencies.


The Prime Minister directed the authorities to plan a waste-to-power plant project in 2015. Following the directions, the Power Division took some initiatives to conduct a study on WTE in Bangladesh. LGRD Ministry proceeded with the initiative and formed a working group in June 2019 for formulating a guideline for a waste to power project. In July 2019, the working group submitted a report with a guideline (Hasan 2019).


Meanwhile, DSCC undertook the Matuail Sanitary Landfill Expansion project in 2016 with BDT 724.49 crore (USD 85.23 million when USD 1 = BDT 85) which included a WTE Power Plant with an installed capacity of 20-25 MW initially which will be increased to 40-50 MW gradually. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the project in March 2017 (Ullah 2017).


After floating a call for Expression of Interest (EOI) according to the guideline, DSCC received 26 proposals in April 2020. It shortlisted 6 proposals from companies of Canada, China, Singapore, South Korea and the United States. The proposals were sent to the ministerial committee for evaluation in July 2020 but no decision has been disclosed till date.


According to the media reports, the Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD) ministry found the proposal of Canves Environmental Invest International Company Limited (CEIC) suitable for the power plant (Hasan 2022).


Land Acquisition

DSCC completed acquisition of 81 acres of land under the Matuail Sanitary Landfill Extension Project which is under implementation now (Rahman 2022). One bidder, CEIC, demanded 31 acres of land for the power plant (Hasan 2022).


Finance

The total budget of the project is yet to be published. DSCC is currently developing the project site under a budget support of BDT 1,544 crore (USD 181.65 million) from the Government of Bangladesh. Any name of the potential External Credit Agency (ECA) finance has not been disclosed till date.


Contractors

No Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor has been selected as the project proposal is still under a process of evaluation. The LGRD ministry found the proposal of CEIC is suitable but latest allegation of fraudulent is found.


Fuel Supply

DSCC is responsible for supplying 3,000 tonnes of solid waste to use as fuel for the power plant. CEIC offered to pay USD 0.20 (BDT 17 when USD 1=BDT 85) for each tonnes of solid waste per day and USD 1,500 (BDT 127,500) as rent for each acre of land per year (Hasan 2022).

Power Generation

The power plant may generate 254.48 - 309.01 million units (gWh) of electricity annually at a rate of 83% plant load factor (PLF) if it runs on its full capacity. BPDB will buy electricity from the power plant at a rate of USD 0.2198 (BDT 18.68 when USD 1=BDT 85) for each unit of electricity (kWh) for a 25 years period from the COD (Hasan 2022).


Environment

According to Section 12 of Bangladesh Environment Protection Act 1995, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is obligatory for any industry (MOLJPA 1995). The polluting industries, such as power plants, have to go through an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) and EIA as directed in the Environmental Conservation Rules 2017 (MOEFCC 1997). But, till date, no IEE or EIA report has been conducted for the power plant.


Carbon Footprint

The life cycle climate change impact (LCCCI) of electricity from WTE facilities ranges from 664g to 951g per kWh (Pfadt-Trilling et al. 2021). According to the estimation, the greenhouse gasses (GHGs) emission from the power plant could be 205.18-293.87 kilo tonnes per year and 5.13-7.35 million tonnes in its operation period. According to the GHGSat, the landfill site emits 35.04 kilo tonnes of methane per year (Amin 2021).


Criticism

According to the media report, solid waste of Dhaka contains more liquid from which producing massive heat is almost impossible. Solid waste from Dhaka contains only 600 kilocalories. And it is not possible to produce power from waste unless the same amount of waste releases 1,000 kilocalories or more (Rahman 2022). The DSCC authority also agreed that “the waste must generate 1500 kilocalories of heat energy to produce electricity, but local organic waste generates only 800 kilocalories” (Farhat 2021).


The Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO), a national organization, said that burning waste only generates more harmful elements, which will pollute the air, water and soil in the surrounding areas and make people suffer even more. Professor Sahadat Hossian from University of Texas in Arlington said that the project will produce 200 tonnes of highly toxic bottom ash a day (Farhat 2021).


Cancellation Risk

In the bidding documents, CEIC claimed that it is a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Canvest Environmental Protection Group Company Limited (CEPG). But when BPDB wrote to CEPG to validate the experience of the project sponsor, CEPG replied that it has no relationship with CEIC. The evidence has been sent to the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh to check the authenticity of the documents (Tuhin 2022). According to Google Search, the company was founded only in June 2020.

 

References

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