Bangladesh Power Development Board

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPBD) is a publicly owned government agency responsible for the planning, generation, transmissions and distribution of electricity in Bangladesh power supply. The BPBD has installed capacity of 4910 megawatts (MW) from 60 Units which it owns itself as well as purchasing and additional 3806 MW from private producers.

While current power generation in Bangladesh is overwhelmingly dominated by gas turbines and diesel and oil-fired plants, the BPBD has ambitious plans for the development of major coal-fired power stations.

On its website the BPDB states it has adopted "a massive capacity expansion plan to add about 12000 MW Generation capacity in next 5 years and about 25000 MW by 2021 with the aim to provide quality and reliable electricity to all the people of Country for desired economic and social development."

Expansion plans
In its January 2013 project list for the five year period to the end of 2017 the BPBD lists 12,910 megawatts of new installed generation capacity. Of this, just over half would be owned and operated by BPBD with the remainder by independent power producers.

Of this proposed expansion, the BPBD lists:
 * 2013: 2,057 megawatts of new capacity, all of which is slated to be fired by gas, diesel or fuel oil;
 * 2014: 1,988 megawatts of new capacity, nearly all of which is slated to be fired by gas or oil; one 5 megawatt solar plant is expected to be commissioned;
 * 2015: 2701 megawatts of new capacity, nearly all of which is planned to be gas-fired; one 100 megawatt wind farm is on the drawing boards as is a 7 MW solar plant;
 * 2016: 2,914 megawatts of new capacity. Of this BPBD flags four coal-fired plants are on the drawing board with an estimated approximate installed capacity of 1338 megawatts. (The BPBD figures appear to be estimates: it lists the construction of the 3rd unit at its own existing Barapukuria power station as 250 megawatts. It lists the proposed  Maowa power project as being a "300-650 MW" plant but counts its installed capacity as being 522 MW and the proposed Chittagong and Khulna power stations both as "300-650 MW" in capacity but uses a figure of 283 megawatts in total for both.
 * 2017: 3250 megawatts in capacity of which 2500 megawatts is proposed to be coal fired with 1200 megawatts at the proposed Matarbari power plants and 1300 at the proposed Khulna coal plant.

Proposed new coal generation plants
In November 2010 Reuters reported that the BPDB had called for tender bids on a number of new power plants including two coal-fired plants. One is a 300MW coal plant proposed to be built near Chittagong port. The tender closes at the end of January 2011. The board also sought tenders for a 650MW coal plant to be built near Mawa. Both projects are proposed to be constructed on a build, own and operate basis for 25 years.

Reuters reported that BPDB officials stated that in the near future they would call for bids for "10 new power plants to add another 4,000 megawatts of electricity to the national grid."

Proposed new coal-fired power stations include:
 * Barapukuria 3rd Unit, a 250-300 MW coal-fired unit being developed by BPDB slated to be commissioned in December, 2013;
 * Chittagong power station, a 1300 MW coal-fired unit being developed by BPDB as part of a Public-Private Partnership slated to be commissioned by June 2015;
 * Khulna South power station, a 1300 MW coal-fired unit being developed by BPDB as part of a Public-Private Partnership slated to be commissioned by December 2015;
 * Maowa power station, is a proposed 300-650 MW Coal Fired Power plant which the Bangladesh Power Development Board is seeking proposals from private generators to build own and operate. The power station would be near Maowa in Munshiganj district.

Contact details
Website: http://www.bpdb.gov.bd/

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