Rampal going to power generation though coal discharge system still not ready

Rampal Power Plant, the joint power station of Bangladesh and India is set to go into production next month as its construction work is nearing completion. 

Since adequate infrastructure for coal discharge has not been developed, imported coal takes long time to unload from ships and for this the authorities have to pay late fees.

Rampal Power Plant of 1,320 MW has two units. About five thousand tonnes of coal should be burned per day for a unit of 660 MW.

Sources said the mother vessel cannot rush to the jetty with coal as the depth of the river channel associated with the project is less than four meters. Coal is brought to the project site by lighter (small) ships. 

Some 45 trips of the lighter are required to unload coal from the 55,000 tonne capacity mother vessel. Usually coal is released in seven days, but it takes about one and a half months and an additional Tk12 crore has to be paid as late fee.

Sources also said that only one of the three conveyor belts at the jetty is operational for discharging coal. It is also sometimes closed due to technical glitches. In addition, the coal shed and waste disposal system are not yet ready.

Engineer Syed Akram Ullah, Managing Director of Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company, said that the construction of a jetty has been completed. 

The construction of another jetty will be completed this month while the third jetty will be operational within the next two months, he added. 

He also informed that they are hopeful that the problem of coal discharge will be resolved before the power plant is commissioned.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi jointly inaugurated the Rampal Power Plant during her last visit to India on September 6. The first unit is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of October next and the second unit by March 2023.