Asian Development Bankto provide $501.5m assistance for RPP

Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $501.5 million assistance to Bangladesh for implementing the Rupsha 800 MW combined cycle power plant project.

Out of the total amount, the Manila-based lending agency will provide $500 million in Ordinary Capital Resources (OCR) loan while the rest of $1.5 million as grant, reports BSS.

The loan and grant agreements in this regard will be signed between the government and the ADB on August 2 at the NEC-2 Conference Room in the capital’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.

Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary Kazi Shofiqul Azam and ADB Country Director Manmohan Parkash will sign the loan and grant agreements on behalf of their respective sides.

Besides, the project agreement will be signed between ADB Country Director Manmohan Parkash and CEO of North-West Power Generation Company Limited (NWPGCL) Engineer AM Khorshedul Alam.

According to ERD and the ADB, the assistance will help develop a state-of-the-art 800 megawatt (MW) power plant in Khulna, Bangladesh, along with associated connections to natural gas and power transmission facilities.

“In the face of rising demand for energy in a growing economy, the Rupsha power plant will be the first of its kind in Bangladesh, vastly increasing the availability of efficient and cleaner energy,” said ADB energy specialist Aziz Yusupov when the loan was approved.

In financial year 2017, the peak demand of power was estimated at 10,400 MW in Bangladesh while available generation capacity was just 9,479 MW. Net peak demand is expected to exceed 13,300 MW by 2020 and 19,900 MW by 2025, while existing generation facilities will gradually retire and need replacement.

The ADB-financed project design will ensure that the Rupsha plant uses the latest combined cycle technology, which offers the highest efficiency to convert gas to electricity. It will also use the most advanced water treatment processes to purify and recycle liquid waste at the end of the industrial process, leaving zero discharge, the experts said.

According to ADB, to supply gas to the Rupsha power plant, the project will construct gas distribution pipelines of 12 kilometers (km). To ensure adequate institutional capacity, the project will conduct overall institutional strengthening of the executing agency, the North-West Power Generation Company Limited, including business processes upgrade and training for implementation and operation of the system, maintenance, monitoring, and environment and social safeguards.

The project is due to be completed by the end of June 2022.

Grant financing of $1.5 million will also be provided from ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, funded by the Government of Japan, to improve living standards in nearby communities.