PM opens Payra thermal power plant in Patuakhali

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday inaugurated the 1320 megawatt ultra-supercritical thermal power plant at Payra in Patuakhali district on a day when she also declared the country’s 100 per cent electricity coverage.

This milestone achievement puts Bangladesh ahead of India and Pakistan among the South Asian nations to light up every house with electricity, reports UNB.

Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, prime minister’s energy adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury and State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid were present at the programme.

Bangladesh-China Power Company (Pvt) Limited (BCPCL), a joint venture between state-owned North-West Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited (NWPGCL) and China National Machinery Import & Export Corporation, has set up the plant using Ultra Supercritical Technology at over $2 billion as part of a development partnership on 982.77 acres of land.

The Export-Import Bank of China lent $1.96 billion for the project. The company started operation in 2016.

This kind of coal-burning power plant using Ultra Supercritical Technology is the thirteenth in the world and seventh in South Asia.

The Ultra Supercritical Technology used for this plant aims at protecting the environment in line with the government’s policy, officials said.

After undergoing test runs for about five months, the first unit of the Payra power plant started commercial operation in May, 2020. In October, 2020, the second unit of the 660 MW plant, a joint venture of Bangladesh and China, started its commercial operation.

The Power Transmission Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) had undertaken a number of transmission projects to facilitate evacuation of electricity from the Payra power project.