India-based energy major Reliance Power has received in-principle approval from the government of Bangladesh for the first phase of a liquefied natural gas (LNG)-based power plant in the country.
The first phase of the power plant will be built at Meghnaghat (Narayanganj district), around 40 km South-East of Dhaka along with the FSRU terminal at Maheshkhali Island in Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh, the company said in a statement.
Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will facilitate the land required for the power plant project at Meghnaghat.
Reliance Power will also set up a floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) to supply re-gasified LNG for the power plant.
The first phase of the project will be commissioned in 24 months from the zero date, in 2018-19. The plant will help Bangladesh to meet the rising demand for electricity in the country, besides proving clean and green power.
It will be the largest foreign direct investment in Bangladesh, with investment exceeding $1.3bn.
Reliance Power is looking to install equipment, including advanced class 9FA machines supplied by GE and others suppliers on the project.
The company had procured that equipment for combined cycle power project at Samalkot in Andhra Pradesh, India.
"This will help set up the project on a fast-track basis," the company said in a statement.
In June last year, Reliance Power had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BPDB to develop 3000 MW LNG-based combined cycle power project in Bangladesh in two phases.
The total investment in the project, including the construction of LNG terminal, is estimated to be around $3bn.
"The project is in line with the Master Plan of 2010 for Bangladesh, under which BPDB envisages to develop a 3,000 MW LNG based power project so as to meet the growing power demand and supplement the domestic gas reserves in the country," it had said.