Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)-Siddhirganj Peaking Power Plant will bring reliable power quicker in Bangladesh as the combined cycle design provides higher generating capacity with lower gas consumption.
The power plant, when completed will be capable of delivering at least 2.35 billion kWh electricity annually, said a project update of the World Bank released on Tuesday from its Dhaka office.
Once completed, the project will increase supply of electricity to grid network in Bangladesh.
The $350 million project is scheduled to end on March 31 in 2016.
The project is a cleaner technology contributing to less carbon emissions and higher thermal efficiency, the report added.
The step was taken in view of increasing demand for electricity and continued supply shortages and following an unsuccessful procurement of the 300 MW peaking power plant.
To fulfill the initiative, the Bangladesh government and the World Bank in 2010 had jointly decided to upgrade the Siddhirganj peaking power plant to an energy-efficient 335 MW combined cycle technology.
The project is in its 5th year, and only 46 percent of the gas-to-power plant construction is complete, which falls behind the schedule.
The World Bank team urged the authority to expedite construction work of power plant and adopt a revised construction schedule to make up for lost time.
The power plant accounts for more than half of the project cost.
Consequently any delay in power plant construction will slow down the whole project. At the power plant site, soil consolidation work is going on.
A joint government and World Bank team recently reviewed the progress of the construction of Siddhirganj Power Plant.
During the visit, the WB found that the construction for gas transmission pipeline and power evacuation system is nearing completion with 80 percent and 98 percent work completed respectively.
The power evacuation system will be complete at end of March and the gas pipeline will be substantially complete in April 2014.
The project has completed Environmental and social impact assessments of the three infrastructure components which are available at website.
The project will also be renamed to Siddhirganj Power Plant to reflect the change in design and the purpose.
The Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB), Gas Transmission Company Limited (GTCL), and Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) are implementing the combined power plant, gas transmission line and the power evacuation system respectively.
The World Bank is also providing technical assistance in construction supervision; Operations & Maintenance (to EGCB); and Enterprise Resource Planning and Implementation (to EGCB and GTCL).
With these supports all three companies have advanced across a range of areas in developing their overall institutional capabilities for providing high-quality utility service, customer satisfaction, and transparent operations.
BBN/SS/AS/06May14-1:00pm (BST)
