Construction work goes on at snail’s pace

Construction work of Moulvibazar 132/33 KV Grid Substation sees very slow progress, much to the inconvenience of the consumers.

Meanwhile, the earth filling work of the project has not been completed since the project started three years ago.

Construction of other infrastructures like control room and installation of transformers will be done after completion of the earth filling work.

According to the sources at the project site, the government decided to construct Moulvibazar 132/33 KV Grid Substation to provide uninterrupted power supply to Moulvibazar town and Srihatta Economic Zone and reduce load shedding.

In 2019, a total of over 5 acres of land was acquired at Raishree village in Sadar upazila for construction of the power substation, under the supervision of the ministry of power, energy and mineral resources.

Jointly funded by the governments of Bangladesh and China, the project is being implemented through the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Limited (PGCB) and it is scheduled to be completed by June 2025.

Local people said although the earth filling work of project started in 2021, only half of the work has been done so far.

According to Moulvibazar Electricity Development Board, there are about 30,000 electricity consumers in Moulvibazar town and its suburb areas while the demand of electricity is 14 MW.

Currently, electricity is being supplied in those areas through 40-kilometre-long Moulvibazar-Fenchuganj line and 28-kilometre-long Moulvibazar-Srimangal line.

But, those lines often get damaged even after a slight rain or wind. Taking this into consideration, the government has decided to construct a grid substation in Moulvibazar town.

Moulvibazar Electricity Development Board Executive Engineer Habibul Bahar said construction work of Moulvibazar 132/33 KV Grid Substation is going on slowly due to various complications.  Even if the work is done at a faster speed now, it will take at least two and a half years to three years to complete the entire work, he said, adding that now we are worried about completing the work within the stipulated time.