Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) signed a joint venture agreement with China Huadian Hong Kong Company Limited (CHDHK) to build a 1,320-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant on Bangladesh's Moheshkhali Island in Cox's Bazar district at a potential cost of $2 billion, local media reported Monday.
Under the deal, which was signed Sunday at a ceremony in Bidyut Bhaban, Dhaka, a joint venture will be set up within a month to start the construction, BPDB Chairman Khaled Mahmood was quoted as saying by The Daily Star, an English-language newspaper in Bangladesh.
Equally owned by both parties, the joint venture will be completed in 48 months according to a handout distributed at the signing ceremony, the report said.
Nasrul Hamid, Bangladeshi state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, said Moheshkhali would be transformed into an energy hub within the next three to four years.
Hamid said the government would add 1,000 MW of electricity to the network in May.
CHDHK President Fang Zheng said this 'important' project was the company's first investment in Bangladesh.
CHDHK is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Huadian Corporation, a large state-run power generation enterprise, with investments in power generation, coal resources development, and power grid construction.
BDBP is a publicly-owned government agency responsible for 'implementing the development program of the government in the power sector,' and providing 'reliable power supply to customers enabling socio-economic development,” according to a statement on its website.
By Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr