Phulbari power station (Sinohydro)

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Phulbari power station (Sinohydro) is an announced power station in Phulbari, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Bangladesh. It is also known as Phulbari Coal and Power Project.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Phulbari power station (Sinohydro)	Phulbari, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Bangladesh	25.946873, 89.55324 (approximate)

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

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Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year	Retired year
Unit 1	announced	coal - unknown	1000	ultra-supercritical	–	–
Unit 2	announced	coal - unknown	1000	ultra-supercritical	–	–
Unit 3	announced	coal - unknown	1000	ultra-supercritical	–	–
Unit 4	announced	coal - unknown	1000	ultra-supercritical	–	–

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner
Unit 1	GCM Resources PLC, Power Construction Corporation of China Ltd (PowerChina)
Unit 2	Power Construction Corporation of China Ltd (PowerChina), GCM Resources PLC
Unit 3	Power Construction Corporation of China Ltd (PowerChina), GCM Resources PLC
Unit 4	Power Construction Corporation of China Ltd (PowerChina), GCM Resources PLC

Project-level coal details

• Coal source(s): Phulbari coal mine

Overview

The Phulbari power station (Sinohydro) is a sister project to the 2,000 MW Phulbari power station (China Gezhouba) , also proposed at the location and developed by the same company GCM Resources.

Both projects rely on coal from the proposed Phulbari coal mine, also being developed by GCM Resources. The overall project is often referred to as Phulbari coal mine project or Phulbari coal and power project.

Background

GCM Resources, formerly Asia Energy Corporation, is a British company established with the sole purpose of building a coal mine and power plant in Phulbari. The company, as Asia Energy, had an earlier proposal for a mine and power plant in the 2000's (see Phulbari Coal Project (Asia Energy)). That proposal was met with considerable resistance, with three people having been killed and more than 200 injured by police in a public protest against the proposal in August 2006.

In September 2018, GCM Resources announced that China's Sinohydro Corporation (of Chinese engineering and construction firm PowerChina) would undertake a pre-feasibility study for a 4,000 MW Phulbari mine-mouth power plant. GCM stated that this was a separate proposal from the earlier 2,000-MW proposal with China Energy Engineering Corporation's China Gezhouba, the Phulbari power station (China Gezhouba). A report released in November 2018 concluded that the proposed Phulbari coal mine could power 6,000 MW of coal capacity.

In January 2019, GCM Resources signed a joint venture agreement and EPC contract with PowerChina for the proposed development of two 1,000-MW mine-mouth coal-fired power units with an approximate investment of US$4 billion. In March 2019, GCM signed a second Joint Venture Agreement with PowerChina in relation to the second phase (2 x 1,000MW units).

According to the GCM Resources 2019 Annual Report, "PowerChina has seen feasibility studies and proposals for the 4,000MW Phases I and II completed." Additionally: "The arrangements with PowerChina also carry an obligation to conduct any required power plant feasibility studies, facilitate the inclusion of the Project in the ‘One Belt, One Road Initiative’ of the People’s Republic of China, and assist with financing the power plants."

In July 2019, GCM Resources announced it had entered into a bilateral agreement with China Nonferrous Metal Industry and Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) to jointly manage the Phulbari coal mine project.

In February 2020, GCM Resources said it had secured a US$1.5 million increase to its existing loan facility of US$3 million with Polo Resources Ltd, raising the total loan amount to US$4.5 million. GCM planned to use the loan on its partnerships with PowerChina, Power Construction Corp of China, and China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and Construction Co for the development of the Phulbari coal & power project.

As of June 2020, feasibility studies were underway, with £55 million invested in the project up to 30 June 2020.

On October 15, 2020, GCM Resources announced that it signed a framework agreement with China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd (otherwise known as NFC) and Power Construction Corporation of China, Ltd (PowerChina). In the two weeks after the announcement, there was increased trading activities involving GCM shares and at least thrice they had to announce Price Monitoring Extension to extend the auction call period. (An opinion piece highlighted that since the refusal of the government to renew GCM's licence for its exploration work, GCM has been maintaining low-level exposure within Bangladesh, thereby avoiding media scrutiny. Instead, the current management of the company was seeking intervention of the Chinese government.)

Under the agreement, NFC was intended to acquire an interest of 5% of the joint venture entity from GCM, based on a valuation of the project to be agreed upon with GCM or its affiliate or investment partner holding the balance of ownership of the project. NFC would arrange financing for the project on acceptable, market-equivalent terms, and would in principle be appointed as the exclusive engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPC) contractor for the project.

In March 2021, GCM Resources shares rose after its development partners have reaffirmed their commitment to progressing the project and acknowledged that the coronavirus pandemic affected their ability to meet deadlines over the past year.

In September 2021, following the Chinese President's address to the United Nations General Assembly, it was reported that GCM remained committed to delivering the Phulbari Coal and Power Project "in a form that fits in with the Bangladesh Government's Energy and Power Sector development ambitions" and including new coal capacity.

2022 Change of Course

In March 2022, GCM Resources raised £2.13m to be spent on developing its Phulbari coal and power project.

Also in March 2022, the Joint Venture agreements with Power Construction Corp of China (PowerChina) with respect to the 4,000MW power station were extended for a further two years to March 15, 2024.

In December 2022, PowerChina agreed to an extension for a period of a further 12 months from December 2022 to December 2023 for the memorandum of understanding primarily focused on the Phulbari coal mine development.

However, in its 2022 Annual Report (covering the period up to June 2022, released in December 2022), GCM Resources stated that they have made changes to their strategy where the 4,000MW power plant proposed under the JV’s with PowerChina is now only an option. This was explained by "already significant new coal-fired power plant capacity being developed by other parties (with the Government) which is rapidly evolving into a significant domestic market capable of absorbing the full Phulbari coal mine production". GCM Resources therefore considered that the focus should be on supplying coal from the mine to other plants in the first instance.

In March 2023, GCM Resources reiterated that "the project proposal is built around supplying some or all coal production to existing (and planned) coal-fired plants (in Bangaldesh) while also providing for the option of installing up to 4,000MW new power capacity at the Phulbari coal mine site". Furthermore, the company stated that they now plan to build a 2GW solar park within the confines of the project area, to be operated in parallel with the mining operations. GCM entered into a Joint Development Agreement with PowerChina for development of the proposed Solar Power Park in January 2023.

In a project update from September 2023, GCM Resources stated that it "continues to promote its planned coal mining and power project ("the Project") in Bangladesh, which it aims to develop in partnership with the Government of Bangladesh."

In March 2024, GCM Resources announced that a $1 billion funding agreement had been written with PowerChina for the Phulbari Coal and Power Project. The four year contract reportedly covered design, construction and commissioning of mine infrastructure, overburden removal, dewatering, and mining. The agreement did not include the associated power station proposal and did not yet have government approval or closure.

Protests and Opposition

In December 2018, protesters with Phulbari Solidarity Group, Extinction Rebellion, and Reclaim the Power blocked the entrance to GCM Resources' shareholder meeting in London, in a protest against the proposed project.

In August 2021, protesters from anti-mining and climate justice organisations occupied the entrance of the Bangladesh High Commission to commemorate the 15th Phulbari Day since the 2006 Phulbari Massacre. The Phulbari Solidarity Group and London Mining Network were joined by Extinction Rebellion Youth Solidarity, Global Justice Bloc and Fossil Fuel London in a vigil and protest. Organisers handed over a memorandum signed by 41 international organisations asking the Bangladesh High Commission to call for the end of coal mining and coal-fired power plants in Bangladesh, as well as the delisting of GCM from the London Stock Exchange.

In August 2023, a Phulbari Solidarity group called on "the Bangladesh and the UK government to take immediate action to ban coal mining, take legal action against GCM Resources, demand justice for Phulbari people," who had previously faced violent backlash while protesting coal mining within their community's land.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.