The management of the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Co. Ltd (BIFPCL) has termed the sources of financing as “critical” for successful and timely completion of the 2x600 MW Maitree Super Thermal Power Project.
The BIFPCL managing director, Ujjal Kanti Bhattacharya, has urged the power ministry to grant the “necessary approval(s) for using the Export Import (Exim) Bank of India credit facility” for the high-priority fast-track project at Rampal upazila in Bagerhat district.
Bhattacharya stated: “The current USD six-month LIBOR rate is 0.93 per cent per annum as of June 29, 2016, but we have considered 1.44 per cent for calculating the loan facilities from Exim Bank of India, considering the fluctuation of LIBOR. As per the terms indicated by the Export Import Bank of India, 100 per cent of the above costs may be capitalised and funded under the Export Import Bank of India facility.” (The benchmark LIBOR is the London Interbank Offered Rate.)
The project comprises the development of a super-critical 2x660 MW coal-fired power plant by BIFPCL, a 50-50 joint-venture (JV) company of NTPC Ltd of India and the evelopment Board (BPDB). It is one of the five national priority projects of the Bangladesh government. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by the BPDB and NTPC for the implementation of the project on August 30, 2010. On January 29, 2012, the BPDB and NTPC signed the JV agreement.
Following an international tender for the selection of an ‘engineering, procurement, and construction’ (EPC) contractor for the project, the company chose Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) of India. An EPC contract totalling USD 1,496.66 million was awarded to BHEL on January 31, 2016. The project site is located 23km south of Khulna city, around 12km northeast of the Rampal upazila headquarters, and 14km northeast of the Mongla port.
The proposed Khan Jahan Ali Airport is some 12km from the site. The proposed power plant is a priority infrastructure development project to establish reliable and cost-effective base-load power production in Bangladesh.
The project aims to use state-of-the-art technology to mitigate environmental impacts while boosting coal power generation capacity in the country.
However, the project has evoked protests from environmental activists on the grounds that the site is close to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Sundarbans, and the use of coal may endanger the forest and its wildlife.