Techknow Industrial SDN Bhd, a Malaysia-based company, plans to establish a sea wave-based power plant in north Chittagong, said its Chief Executive Officer Richard Shie yesterday.

Shie came to the port city to sign a land procurement deal for the factory at Kumira in Sitakunda, says a statement.

Bangladesh Power Development Board also showed its interest in the ocean energybased plant.

“Ocean electric technology doesn't use oil, coal or gas. The output capacity of the plant is almost 900 million KwH, and it will help any government cut its

electricity production cost in half,” the statement added.

The plant will generate power, as long as it is moving with the force of seawater. “It is green, it entails no pollution. It's a solution to tackle global warming and reducing carbon dioxide in the environment."

Techknow Industrial, a Singaporean-owned company, has chosen Chittagong to set the plant that means Bangladesh would be the first country in the world to explore and exploit ocean energy systems before many other countries, the statement added.

The key objective of the plant is to export ocean energy systems to Thailand,

Malaysia and Indonesia.

The construction of the factory will be completed in four phases. At first, the basic fabricating factories will be built on 40 acres of land. Each of the fabricating factories —huge aircraft hangar type steel structures — will be 180 metres long, 100 metres wide and 30 metres high.

The plant will have its own warehouses, hospital, office blocks and hotel, residential apartments, sports centre, shopping mall, supermarket and a private jet runway. The entire plant will take five years to build.

The second plant will be built in Istanbul by 2012 to cater to the needs of the European markets.