Power plant, paper mill on Khulna Newsprint Mill land
“The power plant will be fuelled by liquefied
natural gas imported from India.”
UNB
KHULNA: A process to set up a power plant and a paper mill on 50 acres of land of Khulna Newsprint Mill (KNM) here spending TK 9,106 crore is going on, reports UNB.
Sources said the North-West Power Generation Company Limited (NWPGCL) will construct a 750-800 megawatt combined cycle power plant on the land.
NWPGCL project director Shahidul Marsalin Joaddar said the power plant will be fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported from India. The estimated cost of the project is Tk 7,256 crore.
The construction work on the power plant is likely to start in 2018. The Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources initiated the process back in 2014. In June, 2014, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two countries in this connection.
According to the agreement, an 80-km pipeline will be laid from Arongghata in Kolkata via Petrapole-Benapole, while a 46-km pipeline will be constructed in Jessore. The proposal has also been sent to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Sources said, the factory of the Mill was established on 34.43 acres of land while school, mosque, madrasah, staff quarters and playgrounds were established in the rest 53 acres of land.
Of the 53 acres of land, Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) is going to sell the 50 acres of land to the Power Development Board. A decision in principal was taken to set up a power plant in the area in 2015. BCIC has also sent a proposal to the ministry concerned to set up the LNG power plant on the land. A paper mill will be set up on the land which will produce both newsprint and white papers.
