top of page
Search

Baghabari 200 MW (Paramount) HSD Power Plant

  • 4 hours ago
  • 5 min read

Current Status: Shut Down


Baghabari 200 MW Diesel Power Plant, also known as Paramount-BTrac Power Plant, is a reciprocating engine-based power plant situated at Baghabari Upazila in Sirajganj District of Bangladesh (Location: 24.1331, 89.5949). It is sponsored by Paramount BTrac Energy Limited, a joint venture company (JVC) of Paramount Group and Bangla Trac Limited (BTrac), as a private Independent Power Producer (IPP) for five years. The sponsor declared its Commercial Operation Date (COD) on 16 February 2019 and, as per schedule, the power plant will retire on 15 February 2024.

Capacity

The installed (gross)  and derated (net) capacity of the  power plant is 216 MW and 200 MW respectively.


Context

In 2017, Paramount Textile Limited (PTL) decided to form a new power plant, having formed a partnership between Paramount Textile and Acron Infrastructure with a goal to construct a 200 MW power plant using engines powered by high-speed diesel (HSD) in Baghabari of Sirajganj. This project was carried out under Build, Own, and Operate (BOO) basis. The power plant is located in Baghabari, Sirajgonj, and falls under the administration of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). 

The government has set to grant approval for this  200 MW diesel based power plant in Baghabari, Sirajganj. Insider information suggests that the proposal for the plant, put forth by the Paramount Bangla Track Consortium. The consortium has suggested a power rate of Tk 19.96 per unit from the BPDB, in contrast to the existing consumer price of Tk 6 per unit (Shahid,2018)

In Paramount BTrac Energy (PBEL),  PTL (Paramount Textile Limited)  holds a 49% ownership stake. This power plant commenced its operations in February 2019. Furthermore, PTL has expanded its activities to include dredging operations through the establishment of a subsidiary named Paramount Dredging Ltd. PTL holds a controlling interest of 65% in this subsidiary company (TBS Report, 2022).


Land Acquisition

By using Google Earth Pro it is found that  Baghabari 200 MW HSD power plant of Paramount BTrac Energy (PBEL) covers around 5.28 acre area.


Finance

Paramount Textile as a lead member of the company will contribute approximately 50% of the paid-up share capital to the consortium's overall equity and Acron Infrastructure Services, the operating member, will provide the remaining 50% (Financial Express, 2018). According to the company’s annual financial report for FY2022–23, Paramount Textile PLC earned around Tk 45 crore as profit from its investments in associate companies. During the same year, its total revenue increased sharply to Tk 946.38 crore from Tk 661 crore in the previous fiscal year while profit after tax rose to Tk 135.71 crore, mainly supported by earnings from its associated ventures.

In comparison, the previous year’s profit was Tk 76 crore, showing a notable improvement in overall performance.

In the first half of FY2023–24, the company’s revenue further increased to Tk 505 crore from Tk 483 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. However, despite this growth in revenue, profitability declined during July–December FY2024. The unaudited half-yearly report shows that profit after tax decreased to Tk 52.96 crore from Tk 69.14 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal year, indicating a weakening in profit performance despite higher income (The business Standard, 2024).


Sponsor

The power plant is sponsored by Paramount BTrac Energy Limited, a joint venture company (JVC) of Paramount Group and Bangla Trac Limited (BTrac) and Acorn Infrastructure.


Contractor

As per the most recent report, Acron Infrastructure Services,  will be responsible for operational proces of the power plant  (FE Report, 2018).


Fuel Supply

HSD is used to generate the power of this power plant. According to Bangladesh Power Development Board daily electricity generation data the power plant has no electricity generation in most of the days of 2023 due to the cause of fuel shortage (BPDB).


Power Generation

The expected power generation capacity will be 200 MW and the net energy generation capacity of the power plant’s lifetime  is 3.67 GWh. Electricity is produced using 135 Caterpillar generator sets, providing power to the northern region of Bangladesh (Paramount, 2019). The Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and Paramount BTrac Energy Limited has expired, and BPDB reportedly declined to extend the contract. Following this decision, the management officially decided to shut down the plant (Business Standard, 2024).


Environment

Under Section 12 of the 1995 Bangladesh Environment Protection Act, industries, including those that generate pollution such as power plants, are mandated 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). Surprisingly, there is no IEE or EIA report being carried out for the power plant up to this point.


Criticism

The power generation cost of this power plant is very high. According to the contract if the scheduled commencement of commercial operations did not meet, compensation would be offered at a rate of $200 per megawatt for every day of delay that costs a lot as it does not fulfil its installed capacity. When the agreement was signed the dollar price was 85 and the current has increased to 110.30 Tk (14 October, 2023). Similarly the diesel price was 65 which has increase to 114 in 2022. The owners of six diesel-fired power plants including Baghabari 200 MW Diesel Power Plant were paid $1.03 billion or Tk 11,281.5 crore as capacity charge which will further increase with the passing time (Business Standard, 2023). According to the environmental conservation rule 2023, the project falls in the “Red” category indicating it as a potential harmful project for the environment (MOEFCC 2023). High dependency on imported HSD fuel, making generation costs highly sensitive to global oil price fluctuations and exchange rate volatility. This significantly increases per-unit electricity cost compared to gas- or renewable-based alternatives (Business standard,2022).


References

 
 
bottom of page