Ashuganj power plant set to add 400MW to national grid next month

A 400MW new power generation unit belonging to Combined Cycle Power Plant (East) is being commissioned under Ashuganj Power Station Company (APSCL) Limited. 

In the meantime, experimental power generation has already been launched by the plant. It will go into commercial production by the end of this month or the first week of November, officials said.

After being commissioned, more than 400MW of electricity will be added to the national grid, said Managing Director of APSCL, Sajjadur Rahman.

The Power Division believes that this unit will help minimise the on-going load-shedding, across the country.

“Of course, this unit will help us mitigate the shortage of generation as it is a combined cycle power plant. Such a plant needs less fuel compared to single-cycle plants,” said Secretary to the Power Division, Habibur Rahman. 

The unit was supposed to come into production in 2020 but due to Covid-19 pandemic, all work ran late.   

“We are always aware to keep the power supply running smoothly. I hope this plant will lessen our current power crisis,” said State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Nasrul Hamid.

APSCL signed a deal with China National Technical Import and Export Corporation (CNTIC) on 20th March 2018 to build the plant.

The Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank jointly provided $327.57 million in credit to implement the project.

Its efficiency would be around 58.76 percent while per kilowatt establishment cost would be $408.64, officials said.