top of page
Search
    • Dec 4, 2023
    • 4 min read

Gazaria 350 MW (RPCL) Coal Power Plant

Current Status: Canceled

Representational Photo of Coal Fired Plant (Source; Aljazeera, 2022)

(P. Courtesy: Devanand Sakharkar)


Gazaria 350 MW Coal Power Plant, also known as Gazaria USC Coal Power Plant, is a canceled Ultra-supercritical (USC) thermal power plant was to be situated on Sholo Ani road under Gazaria Upazila in Munshiganj District of Bangladesh (Location: 23.5148, 90.5986) It was proposed by Rural Power Company Limited (RPCL), a State-owned Enterprise (SOE) under Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB), as a publicly owned Independent Power Producer (IPP) for 25 years. The power plant was to start commercial operation in 2023 but RPCL scrapped the plan in 2019. The Government of Bangladesh also revoked its permission in June 2021.


Capacity

The installed capacity of the power plant was to be 350 MW.


Context

Rural Power Company Limited (RPCL) the first Independent Power Producer in Bangladesh was the sponsor of this project. The government's aim to create an industrial zone in the area was linked to the idea of a factory in Gazaria. The location of the factory generated debate since a draft law being prepared by the government would outlaw the use of agricultural land for industrial use. An RPCL official, however, stated that the plant would be situated on mostly arid ground that bordered a river.


The Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh received approval from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in August 2016 to start land acquisition, rehabilitation, and an environmental impact assessment for the construction of a 300 to 400 MW supercritical coal plant in the Gazaria and Sadar upazila of Munshiganj district, with an outlay of BDT 987.80 crore. The intended date of operation was 2023 (GEM,2023).


According to a report from October 2016, PowerChina and Hubei Hongyuan Power Engineering Co. signed a $433 million USD (BDT 4,745.247 crore) contract with Bangladesh Rural Power Company to build a 350 MW coal-fired power station in Munshiganj (Daily Star, 2016). The plant, according to RPCL, was supposed to open in 2019. But as of March 2018, RPCL was still attempting to buy project-related land in Gazaria.


A news article from February 2019 stated that RPCL "backtracked from its decision" to construct a coal plant in the Gazaria upazila due to the infeasibility of carrying coal non-barges on the Meghna River (GEM,2023). However, the RPCL withdrew after widespread opposition from the community to the coal plant in their area (Financial Express, 2020). The project was formally abandoned in March 2020, purportedly as a result of strong opposition. Instead, a gas plant was intended for the location (GEM,2023).


Land Acquisition

RPCL was in charge of purchasing the 330.60 acres of the project area (based on the GOB's ECNEC's clearance for 350 acres of land and the Munshiganj DC office's subsequent advice). Out of the total 330.60 acres, 314.10 acres were proposed to be used for this power plant.


Finance

The project's capital expense is expected to be $650.59 USD million (BDT 71,306.615). The price covers the cost of all the machinery as well as the civil costs for the pump intake pump house, outfall facilities, jetty, civil foundation for the coal conveyor, and the coal storage yard. The total capital cost also includes all soft costs, such as construction-related interest, financing fees, and working capital margin, etc. The capital cost includes costs for land acquisition, land development, and relocation.


Sponsor

The project was supposed to be sponsored by Rural Power Company Limited (RPCL) (GEM,2023).


Fuel Supply

Coal from South Africa, Mozambique, or Indonesia was proposed to be imported to meet the demand of the MW coal-fired supercritical power station. 3,800 tons of coal per day is the maximum amount needed for the 350 MW Supercritical plant.


Contractors

According to the news, until now, EPC contractors were going to be selected, but as the construction of this power plant has been canceled, ultimately no EPC contractors have been found ( The Independent, 2017).


Power Generation

The average yearly gross electrical generation from the 350 (±10%) MW unit of the power plant is estimated to be at a PLF of 80% which is typical for this type of generating plant. Auxiliary power consumption is considered approximately 7% of gross plant output, which is typical for a power plant of this size (RPCL, 2017).


Environment

RPCL has contracted a joint venture to conduct a detailed feasibility study and environmental impact assessment for a coal power plant project in Bangladesh, claiming it will meet "zero emission" standards. However, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) argues that coal plants are significant sources of toxic air pollution, which can lead to chronic and acute health issues, and cause premature deaths. BAPA suggests canceling the remaining coal plant projects to safeguard public health, especially considering the impact of COVID-19 on lung health and the global economic situation (Daily Sun, 2020).


Criticism

Bangladesh has canceled plans to construct a 350MW coal-fired power station in Gazaria and will instead focus on upgrading the grid to reduce rural energy losses (IEEFA, 2020). The Chinese embassy in Bangladesh informed the Ministry of Finance that China would no longer support high-pollution and high-energy consumption projects like coal mining and coal-fired power plants. This decision came after Dhaka requested the replacement of five projects, including the Gazaria 350MW coal-fired power station, from a 2016 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth $3.6 billion (BDT 39,452.4 crore) in Chinese funding (Green Finance & Development Center, 2021).


References:

89 views

コメント

bottom of page