Rental power boost for railway

The government is going to implement four projects of Bangladesh Railway involving Tk 900 crore to reinstate two rail routes and develop a third one to ensure smooth supply of fuel for the upcoming rental power plants.

Of the total amount, Tk 280 crore will be funded from Indian credit under a deal signed recently.

The communications ministry will seek permission from the cabinet committee on economic affairs today for quick implementation of the projects and 10 percent advance payment for the contractors.

The rental power plants will be set up and commissioned within 2011, said the communications ministry proposal.

Reintroduction of Railway's Panchuria-Faridpur-Pukuria route and setting up of rail track on Pukuria-Bhanga route will cost Tk 267 crore. Under another project, rehabilitation of Sholoshahar-Dohazari and Fatehabad-Nazirhat railway routes will be implemented at a cost of Tk 203 crore.

These routes will be used for supplying fuel to Dohazari, Hathazari and Faridpur power plants.

Under another project the ministry will procure 10 broad gauge diesel electric locomotives costing Tk 217 crore. The ministry will also spend another Tk 183 crore for collecting 180 BG bogey oil tank wagon and six brake vans.

To overcome the severe power crisis, the government has planned to generate 1,200 megawatt of electricity through rental power plants, said Power Division sources adding it has already awarded contracts to 18 private sector companies in this regard. These units will run on either diesel or furnace oil and will supply power to the national grid within three to nine months.

Government has also initiated steps to set up diesel-run power plant on its own. Work orders have been awarded to 10 contractors for setting up 10 power plants to produce a total of 820 megawatt of electricity.

A high official of the Energy Division hoped the plants will start production in full swing from March next. He added that the units will consume 7.5 lakh metric tonnes of additional fuel in nine months from March to December. Of this, furnace oil requirement is 4 lakh metric tonnes while demand for diesel is 3.5 lakh metric tonnes.

-Daily Star