Power-starved Bangladesh approves USD 4.6 bn energy project

Bangladesh has approved a USD 4.6 billion project to build coal-fired power plants and a deep-sea port in the Bay of Bengal with Japanese funding, as it seeks to ease a chronic energy shortfall.
Despite major investment in new plants that has seen electricity production double in the last seven years, impoverished Bangladesh continues to face major power shortages.
The National Economic Council yesterday approved the project, which includes two 600-megawatt coal-fired power plants and a deep-sea port to bring in coal.
"In future, we'll construct two more power plants and a LNG terminal here," Planning Minister Mustofa Kamal said, adding that the first power plant would go into operation in 2018.

The project is part of a major initiative to develop the southern Bay of Bengal region into an industrial growth hub with Japanese funding.
A statement from the planning ministry said Japan's state-run aid agency would provide USD 4 billion of the estimated 359.84 billion taka ( USD 4.6 billion) needed.
The Japanese International Cooperation Agency declined to confirm the figure, saying only that the agency had given a USD 406 million concessionary loan for the first phase of the project.