New power plant opens in B'baria

In view of the slogan "Sheikh Hasina's initiative, electricity from door to door," the present government has adopted the master plan for generating electricity for all. As part of this, the authorities are working to upgrade the production of Ashuganj Power Station Company of Brahmanbaria to 3,000 MW by 2021.

Another unit added to the national grid, 450 MW of Combined Cycle Power Plant (North), with a capacity of 386 MW. At present, the power plants of 11 units of this power station have increased production capacity of more than 1800 MW. Apart from this, more 358 megawatt of electricity is being built on the basis of private and public private partnerships in the national grid.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate a new plant called 450 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant (North) through Video Conferencing on Sunday morning. It is being added to the National Grid from the Ashuganj Hub to the 2234 MW electricity grid daily.

Ashuganj Power Station Company sources said the construction work of 450 MW of Combined Cycle Power Plant (North) unit of Ashuganj Power Station Company, the country's largest power plant known as power city started on April 2, 2014. Construction of this unit was completed in 38 months total funding of with the help of ADB, IDB, GOB's financial debt and Ashuganj Power Station Company's own fund at a total cost of 2590 crore.

Of these, the power plant's own fund was about 60 crore taka. After the construction of the natural gas-based power plant, commercial production started from June 11 this year. The construction of this unit has been done by EUTE Technikus Reunidas and TSK grupo SA of Spain. Initially, production increased from 250 megawatts to 4 hundred megawatts in phases. Currently, 360 MW of electricity is being supplied to the national grid from this unit.

Ashuganj Power Station Company Limited's own plant unit-2 to 64 MW, unit-3, 4 and 5 to 450 MW, 53 MW of 50MW gas engine unit, 195 MW from the 200MW Moduler unit, 225 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant to 225 MW, 450 MW combined cycle power plant (South) to 383 MW and 450 megawatt combined cycle power plant (North) from 386 MW at total of 1876 MW of electricity is being added to the national grid.

On the basis of the public-private partnership, the total of 358 MW of electricity in the United-Ashuganj 200 MW power plant, 50 MW of Midland Power Plant, 55 MW of Precision Power Plant and 53 MW of United Power Plant is being added to the National Grid. In all, from the Ashuganj hub, the total amount of 2234 MW is being added to the national grid.

Engineer Kshitish Chandra Biswas, Project Director of Ashuganj 450 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant (North) said it is an energy saving project. It has been created very shortly. Initially, production from 250 mw was gradually upgraded to 400 megawatts.

-Golam Sarwar, Ashuganj, Brahmanbaria