The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for building a 1,320-MW coal-fired power plant at Payra upazila of Patuakhali was signed yesterday at a city hotel. It will be the first-ever contract signed for a mega power plant under a joint venture initiative. The Bangladesh-China Power Company Pvt Limited (BCPCL)– a joint venture firm of Chinese power company CMC and state-owned North-West Power Generation Company Limited (NWPGCL)– will implement the mega power project. The EPC contract was signed between the BCPCL and the consortium of NEPC and CECC, China, for execution of the project. Dipak Kumar Dhali, company secretary of BCPCL, Cai Ming, president of NEPC, and Chen Yuyu, president of CECC, signed the contract on behalf of their respective organisations. The EPC contractor will have to invest 15 per cent of the cost from its own resources, which will be reimbursed after financial closing.
The project will be implemented on a 30:70 equity: debt basis. It means the NWPGCL and the CMC will have to provide 30 per cent funds of the total project cost and mobilise the other 70 per cent from international sources. Speaking on the occasion as chief guest, finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhit said: “A joint venture investment is the best possible way for our country.” Explaining that Bangladesh is now a great destination for investment, the minister said: “I am glad to see that innovative financing scheme is being used in this project. It will make quicken the pace of the development work.” Speaking on the occasion, Dr Tawfique-E-Elahi Chowdhury, energy advisor to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said the plant would set an example of how to fast forward the financing for such a large project.
The condition for the tender asserts that the construction works need not wait for completion of the financial agreement. It can start right after the signing of the contract.
International lenders have already shown keen interest in financing the project. Both NWPGCL and CMC are working closely to raise the required funds from the global market under an overseas investment insurance guarantee from China Export & Credit for Insurance Corporation (Sinosure).
The mega power plant will be constructed on the bank of the Rabnabad river near Payra Maritime Port at an estimated cost of USD 1.56 billion. The proposed plant’s generating efficiency will be 48.05 per cent. It will use bituminous and sub-bituminous coal. The per unit price of the electricity generation is estimated at Tk 6.65. The proposed will be built in Kalapara over 397 hectares.The plant will have two 660-MW units. Both of them will use ultra-super critical technology in which 27 Mpa (Megapascal) pressure will be generated in 600*600 degree Celsius.