Munshiganj power station

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The Munshiganj power station (or Munsiganj power station) was a proposed 400 to 800 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Dhaka division, Bangladesh. The coal proposals now appear to be cancelled while five 660-MW natural gas/LNG fired plants have been proposed.

The power station may have been referred to as the Char Mashura power station or the Char Ramjanbeg power station based on the proposal's location.

Other coal projects proposed in Munshiganj have included the Mawa power station, Gazaria power station (RPCL), and Gazaria power station (RPCL).

Location

The map shows the proposed project's location in the Munshiganj district, Dhaka division. It has been described as Munshiganj Sadar and Gazaria Upazilla (at Char Mashura, and Char Ramjanbeg). One TOR document listed the project area's general coordinates.

Loading map...

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Background

According to the Bangladesh government's 2018 Plan, two "300-400 MW Super Critical Coal Based Power Plant Projects" (Phases I and II) were planned for Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB) ownership. Phase I was planned for operation in December 2026 under "High Case Studies" (and in December 2027 under "Low Case Studies"). Phase II appeared planned for December 2029 under both "High" and "Low" Case Studies (Phase I was incorrectly listed twice under "High Case Studies," so the second listing was likely referencing Phase II). Land acquisition was reportedly underway for both phases.

Phase I news

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.

In February 2019, with various private proposals to build coal-fired power plants in Munshiganj district having been indefinitely delayed, it was reported the state-owned Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB) was moving forward with a 400-MW project. The proposal was presumably what the government's plan referenced as Phase I. However, the article noted that EGCB was planning to scrap the coal plant and pursue a combined cycle power plant project instead if the feasibility study did not allow for coal. The company was also concerned about river erosion at the proposed site, sources said.

On November 19, 2020, The Daily Star reported that Bangladesh's power, energy, and mineral resources ministry had finalized an energy plan that cancelled all coal plants except five under construction. Munshiganj power station was not listed as under construction and would likely be cancelled as a result.

However, in June 2021, when the ministry announced the government was officially dropping ten coal plant projects in its master energy plan totaling over 8 GW of power, the power station did not appear to be part of the projects cancelled.

Annual reports & gas plans

The Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh's (EGCB) portal provides company annual reports:

• The 2016-2017 annual report listed the following under "Running Projects": "Land acquisition and resettlement for implementation of Munshiganj 300-400 MW Super Critical Coal based Power Plant Project." It also listed the following under "Up-coming Projects": "Munshiganj 300-400 MW Super Critical Coal Based Power Plant Project, Munshiganj." The District Land Allocation Committee of Munshiganj allocated the 297.85 acres to EGCB in Munshiganj Sadar and Gazaria Upazilla (at Char Mashura, and Char Ramjanbeg) on December 6, 2017. The project was expected for commissioning in 2024-2025.
• Starting in the 2017-2018 report, the land acquisition was still sometimes referenced, but the Munshiganj coal project was no longer clearly listed under "Up-coming Projects." Instead, the company generally listed various gas projects instead. (In 2019, the company did reference two non-Munshiganj 1,320 MW coal projects for 2032 and 2036.)
• In December 2021, the company's draft and final 2021 Annual Report still did not include the Munshiganj coal project under "Future Development Plan" and listed two "Munshiganj 660 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant Project" phases projected for 2030 and 2031 instead. The gas Feasibility Study was reportedly underway for both phases and land acquisition completed.

In December 2021, the coal project was also not listed on the company's "Future projects" website page, which included six "Munshiganj 600 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant Project" phases projected between 2030 and 2040.

Curiously, various financial statements over the years and in the "Draft Annual Financial Statements" for July 2020-June 2021 still referenced coal under various categories.

In various gas term of reference documents, EGCB highlighted: "As part of the generation target of Bangladesh Government, Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh Limited (EGCB) has started the process to acquire around 194 acres of land at Char Mashura & Char Ramjanbeg, under Munshiganj Sadar & Gazaria Upazilla of Munshiganj District for development of large base load power station. Earlier, EGCB Ltd. conducted a Pre-feasibility Study, Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) and Initial Resettlement Action Plan (IRAP) for setting up of 600-800 MW Coal based Power Plant at that site."

Functionally, the coal proposal appeared to be shelved or abandoned.

Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB)'s Annual report 2022 lists 6 Munshiganj 660 MW combined cycle power plant projects.

Project Details

• Sponsor: Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB)
• Parent company: Government of Bangladesh
• Location: Munshiganj district, Dhaka division, Bangladesh
• Coordinates: 23.541887, 90.571471 (exact)
• Status: Coal Fired (Cancelled), Gas-Fired (Announced)
• Coal Type: Supercritical
• Coal Type:
• Coal Source: Imported
• Gross Capacity (Cancelled):
  • Coal fired, Phase I: 400 MW, start-up in 2026
  • Coal fired, Phase I: 400 MW, start-up in 2027
• Gross Capacity (Announced):
  • Gas/LNG-Fired unit 1, combined-cycle technology, 660 MW, (start-up in 2030)
  • Gas/LNG-Fired unit 1, combined-cycle technology, 660 MW, (start-up in 2032)
  • Gas/LNG-Fired unit 1, combined-cycle technology, 660 MW, (start-up in 2034)
  • Gas/LNG-Fired unit 1, combined-cycle technology, 660 MW, (start-up in 2036)
  • Gas/LNG-Fired unit 1, combined-cycle technology, 660 MW, (start-up in 2038)
• Source of financing:

Articles and resources

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