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Mobile Power Source

Govt to go for 8 plants before next polls

Sharier Khan
After abandoning the scandalous small power scheme under die World Bank's pressure, the government is now resorting to install eight private skid or barge or trailer-mount power plants before the next elections -which would be very costly and least efficient
These plants will together generate 360 MWpowcr.
Such plants typically cost three to five times more than the conventional planLs of similar size, sources in the Power Development Board said. Whereas the Meghnaghat450 MW plant charges Ik 1.8 per kilowatt hour, these plants may charge betweenTk 4 andTkS.
Besides, experiences show that such plants cannot be installed within six or eight months' time if procuredbrandnewoncs.
"The only way the nation can
now procure and install skid or barge or truck mount power plants before the next national election is to buy them second hand," noted an industry insider.
Sources said like the previous attempt of a section of officials at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to award small potver purchase contracts to different ministers and ruling party men, these officials arc once again planning to award the deals to influential party men.
The Power Division of the energy ministry on December 1 in a notification said that the government has approved skid/bargc or trailer mount plants to be set up in eight areas. These arc: Kumargaon of'Sylhet (20 MW gas based), Shahjibazar (20X4 or 80 MW gas based), Bogra (20 MW gas orpetro-leum), Katakhali of Rajshahi (20 MW gas or petroleum), Thakurgaon (20 MW gas or petro-
leum), Fenchuganj (50 MW gas), Khulna (50 MW gas or petroleum) and Shikalbaha (100 MW gas or petroleum).
The power ministry notification says these plants will be set up to tackle the power crisis in the next summer.
The PDB has been asked to start selling tender documents from yesterday with a deadline of January 16. The tender submission date has been fixed to be on January 17, tender evaluation deadline February 7 and the issuance of letter of intent and other clearances by Fcbru ary 28.
The notification says that the PDB will purchase the power from these plants in local currency under a 1.5-year contract. All these plants will have 'dual-fuel' provision. This provision makes a plant costlier, PDB sourcessaid.
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The builders of the plants will be given 90 to 120 days to set up skidor trailer mount plants and 150 days to 180 days for barge-mounted plants.
"These plants will crinnle the PDB as the power price will be very costly," a PDB source said. "We do not know who advises the government to go for such plans. We can have one or two skid or trailer mount plants as temporary solution. But the government Is going for eight such plants with 15 years of power sales contract. It can never be a solution to the power crisis," he added.