Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the cabinet body meeting.
The private bidder—a joint venture of Consortium of UD Environmetal Equipment Technology Co. Ltd, Everbright Environmental Protection Technology Equipment (Changzhou) Limited and SABS Syndicate—will set up the 6 MW power plant at Jalkuri area in Narayanganj.
The idea of the waste-to-energy plant is that the Narayanganj City Corporation(NCC) will collect garbage from its area and supply it to the power plant for power generation.
As per the proposal, state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will purchase electricity from the plant at US 20.91 Cents per kilowatt hour (each unit) which is equivalent to Tk 17.60 for a period of 20 years.
For this, the BPDB will have to pay Tk 1665.48 crore to the private sponsor of the plant for this total purchase of electricity.
Earlier, BPDB) on March 21 in 2018 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NCC to utilize 500 metric tons of solid waste for generating electricity.
Addressing the contract signing ceremony, state minister for power and energy Nasrul Hamid said the government has a plan to implement more similar waste-to-energy projects once this one succeeds.
The move of waste-to-energy plant is a part of the Local Government Division (LGD) for implementing a good number of such plants in different city corporation areas in coordination with the Power Division to manage solid municipal waste (SMW).
Official sources in the LGD and Power Division said all the projects will be implemented in the private sector and the BPDB will purchase the electricity from all the plants.
There will be no tipping fee for the project sponsor while the city corporations will ensure adequate supply of waste to the project as per agreement, said the sources.
Heat generated from burning the waste will be used to produce power, officials said, adding that such projects are available in China and many Asian countries.
Also read: Aminbazar waste-to-energy plant to be a gamechanger: Minister
Earlier, a Waste-to-Energy project was undertaken by PDB in Keraniganj municipal area on pilot basis. But it was cancelled because of the high cost of electricity tariff – Tk40 per kilowatt hour – offered by the interested private firm.
Official sources said the idea for a waste-to-energy plant came into the forefront as the two dumping stations of DNCC and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) at Aminbazar and Matuaile are going to be filled within two years.
The Department of Environment also raised concerns about the existing waste management system which creates environmental risks.