The first unit of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant will go into commercial operation early October in a major stride in growing Bangladesh-India power sector cooperation, officials said.

The unit-I of the 1320 (2x660) MW coal-fired power plant was successfully synchronized with the national grid on August 15.

After completion and “successful synchronization” of unit-I of the power plant, further synchronization related activities are currently being undertaken following which Unit-I will be handed over to the government of Bangladesh, said the officials involved in the project.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are expected to jointly announce the completion of first unit’s construction during her visit to India first week of next month.

PM Hasina is scheduled to leave for New Delhi on September 5 at the invitation of her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.   

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Once both units of the mega power plant are commissioned, the Maitree Super Thermal Power Project will be one of the largest power plants in Bangladesh, Subhash Chandra Pandey, project director of Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (Pvt.) Limited, told UNB.

Unit-II of the power plant, also known as Rampal coal-fired power project, is expected to be commissioned early next year, he said.

The 1320 (2x660) MW coal-fired power plant is being setup at a cost of approximately US$ 2 billion and is located in Rampal, in the Bagerhat district of Khulna division of Bangladesh, said an official describing the project features in detail.

The Maitree Super Thermal Power Project is being constructed under the government of India’s concessional financing scheme.

It is being built by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) for the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Private Ltd. (BIFPCL), a 50:50 joint venture company between India's National Thermal Power Company (NTPC) Ltd and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), said the officials.

The project director said the power plant is being set up with super critical technology to actively mitigate environmental impact.

Some of the in-built measures to minimise air and water pollution, inter-alia, include a flue gas desulphurization system (FGD) with no bypass to control the emission of SOx, integrated effluent and waste management system to avoid contamination of Pasur River.

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The power plant has the tallest chimney in Bangladesh (at 275 m) for wider dispersion of flue gas emissions, said Pandey.

Construction of an advance ship un-loader for coal as well as a fully covered coal stock yard, along with use of high grade imported coal with low Ash and Sulphur content, among other measures, are in place, he said.

On April 6, the 400 kV GIS switchyard and interconnecting transformer of the power plant was energized.

Since then, it has been providing wheeling facility of the 400 kV power from the Payra power project to the 230 kV grid system of Bangladesh to enable the power grid corporation of Bangladesh to transmit additional power towards Khulna region to address peak demand, said the project director.