Bangladesh, India sign agreement for joint coal fired power plant

Bangladesh and India have signed an agreement for the construction of a 1,320 megawatt (MW) coal fired power plant near Sundarbans.
The agreement was signed between Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (Pvt) Limited (BIFPCL), the joint venture enterprise and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).
BHEL was selected under an open international tender for constructing the super thermal plant at Bangladesh’s southwestern Rampal near the Sundarbans.
Key Facts

• This coal fired power plant is the biggest project under bilateral cooperation between both countries that would mark the transition from electricity export to generation level.
• India’s Exim Bank will provide US 1.49 billion dollars for the project and it is scheduled to start generating power in 2019.
• The deal came amid concerns by environmental groups that this power plant could affect the delicate ecosystem of the world’s largest mangrove forest in Sundarbans, a world heritage site spreading over both Bangladesh and India.

Earlier Bangladesh had earmarked Maitree Super Thermal Power Project (MSTPP) as one of its fast-track projects. It was started under a bilateral agreement between India and Bangladesh signed during Prime Minister Hasina’s India visit in 2010.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2016