The government yesterday unveiled its plan to boost electricity generation capacity by 141 percent by 2021 mainly on the back of fuel diversity and harnessing of renewable energy resources.
“We are very hopeful,” Finance Minister AMA Muhith said at a programme titled “Power system master plan – strategy towards 24,000MW power generation”, organised by Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) at its headquarters.
Muhith said the government initially set out to achieve 20,000 megawatt power generation capacity by 2021, but revised it upwards to 24,000MW following achievement of 10,000MW generation capacity recently.
Securing a sustainable supply of primary fuel, private sector participation, demand side management, energy efficiency improvement program and regional cooperation on cross-border power trade would also help in generation of 24,000MW of power by 2021, Mizanur Rahman, director of BPDB, said.
Rahman, who prepared a strategic paper for the achievement of the power generation target, also called for turning to imports for primary fuel supply options as indigenous resources are “inadequate”.
To address the shortfall, he recommended imports of liquefied natural gas and coal from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa, together with enhanced gas exploration and production, domestic coal development and safe nuclear for base load.
Rahman also called for ensuring gas supply to power plants via upgrades in distribution infrastructure. The shipping ministry also needs to establish deep sea port and dredge for smooth fuel and equipment transportation for achieving 24,000MW by 2021.
The communication ministry needs to strengthen track and road capacity for heavy weight equipment, provide locomotive and wagon for liquid fuel transportation and regularly carry out road maintenance for smooth operation.
The government needs to ensure financing for public and private sector projects, availability of foreign currency, development of skilled manpower and introduction of corporate culture and professionalism in sector entities, he said.
