Rampal power plant may resume electricity supply tonight

The Rampal thermal power plant may resume production tonight after a month of closure due to the coal crisis.

"We have taken all-out preparations to resume production. If everything remains perfect, electricity will be supplied to the national grid from tonight," Sayeed Akram Ullah, managing director of Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company Limited, told The Daily Star.

On January 14, the power plant suspended operations because of a shortage of coal.

Regarding the coal crisis, Sayeed said, "A ship has already reached Mongla port. We have scheduled three to four coal-laden ships from Indonesia to Bangladesh soon. We hope to supply power to the national grid tonight."

In 2010, India and Bangladesh jointly initiated the construction of the thermal power plant after initiating Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (Pvt) Limited. An agreement was signed between Bangladesh Power Development Board and India's NTPC Ltd on January 29, 2012.

On September 6 last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the first unit of the plant amid protests from environmentalists over possible threats to the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest.

The Rampal power plant started commercial operation on December 23 last year.