DHAKA, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's power generation capacity is all set to reach 23,222 megawatts (MW) by the end of this year as a mega electricity plant being built in collaboration with Chinese firms nears completion, said the officials.
They said Payra coal-fired power plant would inject 660 MW electricity to the national grid from Dec. 31 in the first phase, as the boiler of the first unit was lit up successfully recently.
The power plant, located in Patuakhali district, some 204 km south of capital Dhaka, is a joint venture initiative of and funded by the North-West Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited (NWPGCL) and China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC).
Once completed, the power plant will be operated by Bangladesh-China Power Company Limited (BCPCL), the joint venture of the Bangladeshi and Chinese companies.
"We have a target to add 660 MW electricity from the first phase of 1,320 MW Payra power plant to the national grid from Dec. 31 this year," the country's State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid was quoted as saying in a report of national news agency BSS Monday.
"With the generation of 660 MW, the country's power generation capacity will stand at 23,222 MW," he said, adding that the country is now producing 22,562 MW electricity and around 94 percent people are now under the electricity coverage.
Director General of Power Cell Engineer Mohammad Hossain said the NWPGCL brought the first shipment of coal from Indonesia on Sept. 18.
"Work is going on to install steel structure of the coal dome. Around 88.99 percent infrastructural works of the plant has been completed," he said.
Hossain said the last date for submitting proposals of selling or shifting dry ash was on Oct. 21 while the dredging work at Rabnabad Outer Channel will begin within this month.
Chinese and Bangladeshi workers are working around the clock to make the power plant fully operational by June 2020.
