Current Status: Proposed
It is sponsored by Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) as a State-owned Power Plant (SOPP) for 25 years. As per schedule, the power plant is to retire on ###.
Bidding documents for Joint Venture and Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contractors were called in ### (source). ### companies submitted the bidding documents but none of them met the criteria of bidding. BPDB has been planning to float a second round of call for bidding but couldn’t circulate it even in June 2022 (BPDB 2022).
Context
According to the Progress Report (June 2022), the Commercial Operation Date (COD) of the power plant is planned as June 2028 (BPDB 2022).
Contractors
Cancellation Risk
In ###, the Minister ### Bangladesh declared that Bangladesh will not build any more coal power plants in the country (source ###). Even then BPDB kept the power plant in the planned power plants’ list with an option of External Credit Agency (ECA) financing. China and Japan were the last two countries financing for coal power plants in Bangladesh. On 21 September 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that China would help build green energy production and halt construction of coal power plants abroad (FE 2021b). Bangladesh’s top investors Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank Group (WBG), Prudential (UK), Citi Bank, Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) also announced exit from coal financing (FE 2021a). This power plant might be canceled if there is no ECA finance for coal.
Reference
BPDB 2022. Power Sector Progress Report. Bangladesh Power Development Board: 15 June 2022
FE 2021a. “ADB, Citi, HSBC, Prudential hatch plan for Asian coal-fired closures”. The Financial Express (FE): 3 August 2021
FE 2021b. “China's overseas coal power retreat could wipe out $50b of investment”. The Financial Express (FE): 1 October 2021
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