The country’s single largest rooftop solar plant was inaugurated on Sunday at the privately owned Korean Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Anwara upazila of Chattagram.

The power plant, installed on the rooftop of the factories in the EPZ will generate 16 MW in the first phase while the total capacity of the plant will be 40 MW.

Inaugurating the plant, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said the government has been laying special emphasis on promotion of renewable energy across the country.

“We’ve set a target to generate 40 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2041”, he told the function.      

The function was also addressed by South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun and Chairman & CEO Youngone Corporation Kihak Sung. South Korean conglomerate Youngone Corporation set up the Korean EPZ.

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Nasrul Hamid said the project will encourage other industries to set up similar projects to promote green energy in the industrial sector.

Ambassador Lee Jang-keun said the 40MW rooftop solar panel project shows the vision and innovation of the KEPZ which sets an example not only to the other companies in Bangladesh but also to all in the region and in the whole world.

“It is not only saving money and production cost, but also makes the KEPZ and its business sustainable and resilient”, he added.

It is how businesses can get along with nature and reduce the threat of climate change. It is perfectly in line with the Bangladesh government vision and energy strategy, he added.

He said Bangladesh's economy amid the corona pandemic might owe to the success of the KEPZ’s operation and business.

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“That is the reason why I keep saying that Bangladesh’s success depends on the success of its business sector, its factories and companies as it has been the case for Korea”.