163MW plant preparing for production amid fuel crisis

Amid a severe fuel crisis in the country, the commissioning of a dual-fuel 163MW power plant owned by the Bangladesh Power Development Board is underway at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar in Chattogram’s Mirsharai.

B-R Powergen, a state-run company, finished the plant’s construction at a cost of Tk 1,068 crore several months ago. But production could not be started due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Executive Engineer of B-R Powergen Maruf Saleh on Thursday said the plant was at the final stage of commissioning, which would be completed within a day or two.

“Although there is a fuel shortage in the country, we are ready to start full production. The plant is capable of producing electricity by using both gas and furnace oil,” he said.

He also said they could use furnace oil for production even if the government was unable to supply gas. “We have 10,000 tonnes of furnace oil in stock at the moment.”

The plant was scheduled to start operations on October 30 last year, but there was a delay due to the pandemic. Its commissioning was also delayed as experts from the plant’s machinery manufacturer, Mann Company of Germany, cancelled a visit to Bangladesh amid the global health crisis.

Three experts from Mann Company are working at the plant at present. On Thursday, local and foreign experts worked on synchronising the plant with the national grid, which was the last part of commissioning.

Although it is a dual-fuel plant, B-R Powergen is planning to use gas instead of furnace oil due to low production costs. Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company is building a gas supply infrastructure at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar.

Sources said an alternative line had already been installed to supply gas to the plant as Karnaphuli Gas company had not finished its task yet.

The company’s General Manager (engineering services) Md Sarwar Hossain said supplying gas to the plant had not been decided yet but the government had prioritised it.

After gas imports from foreign spot markets stopped, supply to all bulk users in Chattogram has been reduced, except ‍for a power plant in Raozan. B-R Powergen sources said the production delay at the plant is seen as a commercial loss. That is why it is necessary to start production soon to recover the loss or prevent further losses.