Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power has won an in-principle approval from the Bangladesh government for the first phase of the 3,000 megawatt LNG-based power plant.
“Under the approval, first phase of 750 MW power plant will be set up 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 here.
Reliance Power will set up a 2-million-tonne a year floating LNG import terminal with a floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) to bring the fuel in ships for firing the power plant.
“Power plant land at Meghnaghat will be provided by Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). FSRU-based LNG terminal will supply re-gasified LNG for the power project and additional RLNG to PetroBangla,” the statement said.
The first phase will be commissioned in 24 months from the zero date, in 2018-19 and help meet Bangladesh’s rising demand for electricity.
“This will be the largest foreign direct investment in Bangladesh with a potential investment of over $1.3 billion,” the statement said.
Total investment in the 3,000-MW power plant together with LNG terminal would be close to $3 billion.
The company will use the equipment it had contracted for its Samalkot project in Andhra Pradesh for setting up the power plant in Bangladesh.
The equipment will be under appropriate warranties from General Electric (GE), the USA and other global suppliers.