World Business

Bangladesh invites tenders for 550 mW power plants

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-26 11:33

DHAKA: The Bangladeshi government has invited bids from interested local and foreign firms for setting up three more power plants in the country on build, own and operate basis for generation of up to 550 megawatts of electricity, a senior official said Sunday.

The Power Development Board (PDB) official, on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to talk to media, told Xinhua that the power plants will be run by either furnace oil or natural gas.

He, however, said two of the plants will have 150 mW to 225 mW electricity generation capacity each for around 22 years while the third one with 100 mW will produce power for 15 years.

As part of the South Asian country's government's plans to boost power generation, the state-owned PDB earlier invited pre- qualification bids for the three plants and set June 6 this year as the last date for submission of documents.

With these three power plants, 11 fossil fuel run power plant projects are now put on offer for local and foreign bidders to generate reportedly a total of 2,120 mW electricity.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League-led government early this month has unveiled in the parliament her ambitious plans for power generation in next five years to defuse acute energy crisis in the country.

While delivering her valedictory speech at the concluding sitting of the fourth session of the ninth parliament, Hasina said that the country would generate over 9,000 mW of more electricity by 2015.

Currently, the country has a generation capacity of maximum 4, 000 mW of power against a demand for around 5,500mw each day.