Bangladesh set to sign maiden coal import deal

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Bangla Tribune Report
Published : 23:26, Jun 16, 2019 | Updated : 23:26, Jun 16, 2019

The 1,320 megawatt thermal power plant near Payra port would require around 12,000 tonnes of coal daily to generate electricity.Bangladesh is set to sign its first-ever deal to import coal with an Indonesian company for the thermal power plant near its the southern port of Payra.
The signing ceremony between Bangladesh-China Power Company Limited (BCPCL), the executing agency of the power plant, and Indonesian PT Bayan Resources is slated for Monday (Jun 17) at the capital Dhaka.
BCPCL is a joint venture between Bangladesh's North-West Power Generation Company Ltd (NWPGCL) and China's China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC).
Under the 10-year deal, Bangladesh will buy 4 million tonnes of coal annually to run the 1320-megawatt (MW) power plant.
The Payra power plant would be first in the country to be run on imported coal.
According to sources at the BCPCL, Indonesia’s PT Bayan will supply per tonne of half-loaded Supramax coal at $55 and additional $25 will be spent on transporting it, bringing the total cost to $80.
The BCPCL has signed a five-year deal with German dry bulk shipping company Oldendorff Carriers to transport the coal from Indonesia.
Photo shows a PT Bayan Resources barge ship carrying coal. PHOTO/Bayan.com.sgAccording to BCPCL official, the first shipment of coal for the Payra power plant is expected to arrive in July.
The plant would require around 12,000 tonnes of coal daily to generate electricity.
The first unit having 660MW capacity at the coal-fired power plant would go into operation by December 2019 and the second one having the same capacity by June 2020.
To run one unit, some 180,000 tonnes of coal will be required every month.
Bangladesh has five coalmines, but extraction is limited to only one at Barapukuria in Dinajpur.
Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Ltd (BCMCL) is annually extracts around 1 million tonnes of coal, most of which is consumed by nearby Barapukuria thermal power plant.
According to its power system master plan, Bangladesh plans to produce around 50 percent of the country's overall electricity from coal.
To implement the plan, the government will have to generate around 12,000 MW of power from coal by 2024, 20,000 MW by 2030 and 30,000 MW by 2041.
However, Bangladesh now has only three coal-fired power plants which produce some 524 MW against the total installed capacity of 17,685 MW.

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