Gazaria power station (RPCL)

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Gazaria power station (RPCL) is a power station in Gazaria, Munshiganj, Dhaka, Bangladesh with multiple units of varying statuses none of which are currently operating. It is also known as Gojaria power station.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Gazaria power station (RPCL) Gazaria, Munshiganj, Dhaka, Bangladesh 23.524007, 90.627202 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1: 23.524007, 90.627202
  • Unit 1: 23.50936, 90.41593

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology CHP Start year Retired year
Unit 1 cancelled coal - unknown 350 supercritical
Unit 1 pre-construction[1][2][3] gas, liquefied natural gas[1] 600[1] combined cycle[1] not found 2033[3]

CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner Parent
Unit 1 Rural Power Co Ltd (RPCL) [100.0%]
Unit 1 Rural Power Company Limited (RPCL)[1] Rural Power Company Limited (RPCL) [100.0%]

Project-level coal details

  • Coal source(s): imported

Background

Project sponsor Rural Power Company Limited (RPCL) was the first Independent Power Producer in Bangladesh. The plan for a plant in Gazaria was connected with a government plan to establish an industrial zone in the district. The project sponsors took steps toward acquire the 350 acres of land needed for the plant. According to an RPCL official, the cost of the plant was expected to be US$550 million.[4]

The siting of the plant was controversial since a draft bill being readied by the government would prohibit use of crop land for industrial purposes. However, according to an RPCL official, the plant would be sited on land abutting a river that was primarily barren.[5]

In August 2016, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) gave approval for the Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh to begin land acquisition, rehabilitation and an environmental impact assessment for establishing a 300 to 400 MW supercritical coal plant in Gazaria and Sadar upazila of Munshiganj district, with an outlay of Taka 987.80 crore. It was planned for operation in 2023.[6]

In October 2016, it was reported Bangladesh Rural Power Company signed an agreement worth US$433 million with PowerChina and Hubei Hongyuan Power Engineering Co to set up the 350 MW coal-fired power plant in Munshiganj.[7]

According to RPCL, the plant was planned for 2019.[8] However, as of March 2018, RPCL was still working on the acquisition of land in Gazaria for the project.[9]

According to a news report in February 2019, RPCL had "backtracked from its decision" to build a coal plant in Gazaria upazila, because transporting coal in barges on the Meghna River was "not found feasible."[10]

In March 2020, the project was officially called off, reportedly due to widespread protest. A gas plant was planned for the area instead.[11][12]

As of July 2022, RPLC had acquired land for the construction of a 600 MW LNG-fired power station in Gazaria.[13] The 2021/2022 annual report of Bangladesh Power Development Board updated in November 2022 confirms the palnned LNG-fired power station of 600MW with expected commissioning date of June 2027.[14]

Financing

According to an RPCL official, the cost of the plant would be US$550 million. In 2015, it was reported that finance may come either from China or from an unspecified Export Credit Agency.[15]

In August 2017, Bangladesh government officials said they were pitching for the newly-formed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to provide US$1 billion for power projects including the proposed 350 MW Gazaria coal plant. While senior executives with the China-backed AIIB have stated it wants to be “lean, clean and green”, the bank’s power sector lending policy includes loopholes which could be exploited to justify funding coal plants.[16]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 https://web.archive.org/web/20240207143925/http://www.rpcl.gov.bd/site/page/417c0307-b032-40eb-8884-eff11684cc3a/-. Archived from the original on 07 February 2024. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20230203030722/http://rpcl.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/rpcl.portal.gov.bd/annual_reports/539cb365_198a_419e_83ee_3619dcc78c15/2022-10-13-11-26-374f03d96786e0a71ddba9a4181da360.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 03 February 2023. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. 3.0 3.1 (PDF) https://www.rpcl.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/rpcl.portal.gov.bd/annual_reports/539cb365_198a_419e_83ee_3619dcc78c15/2023-01-03-03-37-1fc5cc7643fbec0bf6c524122247bfe6.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. Aminur Rahman, "RPCL to set up 350 MW coal-fired power plant in Munshiganj," EnergyNewsBD.com, November 7, 2015
  5. Faisal Mahmud, "350MW Munshiganj power plant gets nod," The Independent, November 10, 2015
  6. "400 MW Supercritical Coal Based Power Plant to be installed in Munshiganj," Bangladesh Awami League, 23 August 23, 2016
  7. Refayet Ullah Mirdha, "Beximco, Meghna tie up with Chinese investors for power," Daily Star, Oct 18, 2016
  8. "Gazaria 350(±10%) MW Coal based thermal Power Plant," RPCL, accessed May 2017
  9. "No progress in 19 power plants yet," The Bangladesh Post, March 9, 2018
  10. 400 MW Power Plant to Be Set Up in Munshiganj, Daily Sun, 10 Feb. 2019.
  11. Mostafizur, Rahaman (March 22, 2020). "Chinese loans: Govt to drop coal plant project". The Financial Express. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  12. "600MW LNG power plant in Gazaria". A Daily with a Difference | Latest Online English Daily among Bangladesh Newspapers. 2018-10-14. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  13. "Rural Power Company Limited". www.rpcl.gov.bd. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  14. "Bangladesh Power Development Board Annual Report 2021/2022" (PDF). bpdb.portal.gov.bd. November 2022. Retrieved page 43. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. Aminur Rahman, "RPCL to set up 350 MW coal-fired power plant in Munshiganj," EnergyNewsBD.com, November 7, 2015
  16. "Bangladesh seeks $1b from AIIB," Daily Star, Aug 4, 2017

Additional data

To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datases, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.