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Row Over Transporting Coal

Mongla port, power div at loggerheads

Staff Correspondent
The Mongla Port Authority and Power Division are yet to resolve the differences over transporting coal from the port to the planned 1321MWcoal-based power plant site in Rampal of Bagerhat district. Rampal is 10 km north of the port.
The port authority earlier gave verbal assurance to use two jetties (jetty 10 and 11) for coal transportation, but is now reluctant to do so, on ground of the port's limited capacity and an adverse impact on export and import due to dust from coal in the port area, said officials concerned.
The port authority insisted that out of 13 jetties outlined in the Mongla Port Master Plan, five jetties (5 to 9 jetties) have been constructed and are now operational. It informed
the Power Division that jetty 1 to jetty 4 could not be built due to low depth of water while jetty 10 and jetty 11 will beneededin future for container handling.
“If two jetties are given for coal transportation the extension of the port may be hampered, but the two jetties will be needed for transit facilities to India, Nepal and Bhutan," the port authority informed the Power Division in a letter recently.
In this context, the Power Division sent a summary to the prime minister last month for her approval. The premier gave the approval to use the two jetties.
Meanwhile, an inter-ministerial meeting held at the shipping ministry to resolve the problems ended
inconclusively. Chaired by Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, the meeting was attended by Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Adviser Moshiur Rahman, Energy Adviser Towfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury and senior officials of the shipping ministry and Power Division.
Another meeting will be convened soon to find ways to resolve the problems, meeting sources said.
Apart from that, about Tk 100 crore will be required for capital dredging of 10 km river from Mongla port to Rampal. Another Tk 15 crore will be needed annually for maintenance of the low depth route, said Power Division sources.
Chairman of Mongala Port commodore MAK Azad said they have no problem with handing over two
jetties for coal transportation after the PM's approval. He said everything in this regard will be resolved soon.
Bangladesh and India have signed an agreement to build the power plant under a joint venture initiative. It will formally be announced during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in September.
Bangladesh's Power Development Board (PDB) and India's state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) are designated to implement the project by 2016.
NTPC has already prepared a draft feasibility study of the power plant, but it could not be finalised due to the coal transportation-related problems, said shipping ministry officials.