File photo: Moneycontrol
Manila, Philippines (BBN)- The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors has approved a $500 million loan to develop a 800 megawatt (MW) power plant in Khulna of Bangladesh.
The ADB-financed project design will ensure that the Rupsha plant uses the latest combined cycle technology, which offers the highest efficiency to convert gas to electricity.
“It will also use the most advanced water treatment processes to purify and recycle liquid waste at the end of the industrial process, leaving zero discharge,” the ADB said in a statement.
To supply gas to the Rupsha power plant, the project will construct gas distribution pipelines of 12 kilometers (km).
The project will also finance construction of a 230-kilovolt switchyard at the power plant and 29 km of high capacity transmission lines to transfer generated electricity from Rupsha to the grid.
To ensure adequate institutional capacity, the project will conduct overall institutional strengthening of the executing agency, the North-West Power Generation Company Limited, including business processes upgrade and training for implementation and operation of the system, maintenance, monitoring, and environment and social safeguards.
The total cost of the project is $1.14 billion, with the Islamic Development Bank contributing $300 million in cofinancing and the government contributing $338.5 million on top of ADB’s support.
The project is due to be completed by the end of June 2022.
Grant financing of $1.5 million will also be provided from ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, funded by the Government of Japan, to improve living standards in nearby communities.
Focusing on vulnerable households and women, activities will include increasing awareness on safe and efficient use of electricity, training on livelihood and job opportunities, and providing school laboratory facilities.
BBN/SSR/AD