Current Status: Shelved
Representational Photo: Dialogue Earth
Barishal 350 MW Coal Power Plant (Phase II), also called Barishal Coal Power Station (Unit-II), is a shelved Ultra-supercritical (USC) thermal power plant to be situated at Khottar Char of Ankujan Para in Nishanbaria Union under Taltoli Upazila in Barguna District of Bangladesh (Location: 21.9647, 90.0714). It was proposed by Barisal Electrical Power Company Limited (BEPCL), a Joint Venture Company (JVC) of Sinohydro (Hong Kong) Holdings Limited (SHKH) and ISO Tech Electrification Company Limited (ITECL), as a private Independent Power Producer (IPP) for 25 years. However, no progress was seen by December 2022 when the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) declared that it would not build any more coal power plants in the country.
Capacity
The capacity of the power plant was set to 350 MW.
Context
On August 30, 2018, PowerChina Hebei Electric Power Design & Research Institute Co, a subsidiary of PowerChina, agreed to provide preliminary design and technical consultation services for the Barisal 2×350MW coal-fired power station (CD, 2018). Though unit-1 successfully came into operation, unit-2 didn't make it to operation (GEM, 2023). Many protests and allegations of land acquisition and environmental concerns have been made by local people and the Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development(BWGED) (DS, 2018; NAB, 2018; Siddique, 2021). As of 2022, the project relied on financial backing and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) assistance from PowerChina, and its progression appeared doubtful (GEM, 2021). It became shelved as the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) declared not to build any more coal power plants in the country by canceling coal-based power plants (TDS, 2021). There is also no mention of this power plant in the latest BPDB annual report (BPDB 2023).
Land Acquisition
No more public information was available about the project's status as of September 2023. As of August 2023, however, correspondence with partner organizations revealed that land acquisition activities were still in progress (GEM, 2024). According to another source, the project covers a 300-acre site in Angujan village of Taltali upazila in Barguna (EB, 2019).
Finance
The financiers of Unit 1 were ISO Tech Electrification Company Limited (ITECL), Sinohydro (Hong Kong) Holdings Limited (SHKHL), and BEDICL, with a budget of $557.89 million. BEDICL invested $149.04 million, while ITECL and SHKHL invested $6.48 million each, holding 92%, 4%, and 4% share of the project (PC, 2023). 70% of the project's funding was provided by an unidentified foreign loan totaling $378.00 million. The Export-Import Bank of China and the Bank of China formed a syndicate that provided the first US dollar loan to Barishal Power Generation Co., Ltd (Power. IN-EN, 2021). To emphasize the value of a strong energy infrastructure, the government of Bangladesh contributes $17.89 million for the transmission line. But the finance for the second unit is not yet available.
Sponsors
The sponsors were supposed to be Barisal Electrical Power Company Limited (BEPCL), a Joint Venture Company (JVC) of Sinohydro (Hong Kong) Holdings Limited (SHKH) and ISO Tech Electrification Company Limited (ITECL).
Contractors
PowerChina was the engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor for the power plant (GEM, 2021).
Fuel Supply
Coal was going to be used as fuel for the power plant. The power is still included in the government's energy plan, but it is unlikely to move further since it requires funding and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) help from PowerChina (CREA 2021).
Power Generation
No power has been generated as the power plant has been shelved.
Environment
Compliance with Section 12 of the 1995 Bangladesh Environment Protection Act required industries, including potentially polluting entities like power plants, to undergo both an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) and an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), as specified in the 2017 Environmental Conservation Rules (MOLJPA 1995; MOEFCC 1997). In the past, the absence of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the power plant raised concerns. An environmentally conscious alternative involves implementing a carbon tax and transitioning towards renewable energy sources. According to the environmental conservation rule 2023, the project falls in the “Red,” indicating it is a potentially harmful project for the environment (MOEFCC 2023).
References
BPDB (2023). “BPDB Annual Report 2022-23” Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB): accessed on 11 May 2023
CD (2018). “POWERCHINA's subsidiary inks agreement for a power station in Bangladesh”. China Daily (CD): 19 December 2018
CREA (2021). “With China’s withdrawal from overseas coal, the pipeline for new coal in Asia could drop to 22 GW — all of which will likely not be built”. Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). November 2021
DS (2018). “Government to probe ‘illegal’ land acquisition for Barisal power plant”. Daily Sun (DS): 29 October 2018
EB (2023). “Another 350 MW coal-fired Power Plant in Barguna”. Energy Bangla (EB): 14 January 2019.
GEM (2021). “With China’s withdrawal from overseas coal, the pipeline for new coal in Asia could drop to 22 GW — all of which will likely not be built”. Global Energy Monitoring (GEM): November 2021
GEM (2023). “Barisal power station”. Global Energy Monitoring Wiki (GEM): accessed on 9 December 2023
MOEFCC (1997). ‘The Environmental Conservation Rules. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC)’: 27 August 1997
MOLJPA (1995). ‘Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995’. Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs (MOLJPA): 16 February 1995.
NAB (2018). “Coal-fired power plant in Barguna despite environmental concerns”. NewAge Bangladesh (NAB): 6 August 2018
Power.IN-EN (2021). “Bangladesh Barisal project achieves financing closure”. The Power.IN-EN.com, 12 May 2021.
PC (2023). “BANGLADESH BARISAL POWER CO., LTD”. Power China (PC): Accessed on 14 November 2023.
Siddique (2021). “China builds coal power plant Bangladesh despite protests”. The Third Pole: 26 April 2021
TDS (2020). “Future not coal power”. The Daily Star (TDS): 19 November 2020
TDS (2021). “Bangladesh scrapped 10 coal power plants: PM tells COP26”. The Daily Star (TDS): 1 November 2021
MOEFCC (2023). “The Environmental Conservation Rules”. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC): 5 March 2023.