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New Fenchuganj power unit may not start operation before Jan

IQBAL SlDDIQUEE, Sylhet
There is no possibility of putting the newly installed second 90MW combined cycle power plant at Fenchuganj in Sylhet into commercial operation by December although the Chinese contractor company was supposed to start it in November.
The company, Harbin Power Engineering (HPE) has been running some final checks on the two gas-run units of the plant with the help of a team of experts from abroad since last week but no such team for the steam-driven unit has reached yet, a Power Development Board (PDB) official told The Daily Star on Wednesday.
It will not be possible to start commercial operation before January as the Chinese company needs at least five to six weeks more for the purpose, said the official referring to HPE sources.
However, the PDB's pressure on the Chinese company is still on to start the plant as soon as possible, he said, adding that a meeting between the Chinese company, Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh and the PDB is scheduled for November 25 to ascertain things.
Meanwhile, sources requesting anonymity said the Chinese company is now contemplating claiming compensation as the plant had to be kept shut for the last one year, even after the trial run for several days.
Installation of all three units - two gas turbines and a steam turbine, were complete and test run was done in October last year, according to the official sources.
After running the plant for 10 days, the Chinese company put it off on November 8 of 2008 and things remained hung in balance for around a year due to controversy between the PDB and the Chinese company over payment of ta^es ,apd Vat for the imported machinery.
Earlier project director of the 90 MW power plant, Zafar Ullah Bhuiyan, also a superintending engineer of the PDB dial implemented the project, asked HPE for starting commercial operation in this month.
Since the PDB had already cleared all the financial claims there was no reason to delay, he told the Daily Star in the first week of November.
Commencement of com-
mercial operation of the first unit will be seconded by the operation of the second unit soon after, he said. Steam received from the two gas turbines will be used for running the third one — steam turbine.
"We're to supply at least 90 megawatt electricity to the national grid from the plant within weeks,” said the official.
HPE is the turnkey contrac-
tor for the Tk 514 crore second gas-fired 90 MW combined-cycle power plant project that the government initiated to mitigate power crisis in the country.
About a decade ago, a Japanese contractor company built the first 90 MW combined cycle power plant at an adjoining site on the
Fenchuganj.