First unit of Matarbari power plant starts production on trial basis

The first unit of the coal-powered Matarbari power plant in Maheshkhali upazila of Cox's Bazar started production on a trial basis from 12pm today (29 July). 

Monowar Hossain Majumder, superintending engineer of Matarbari Power Project said the trial production started with 33 MW of electricity.

He said the unit started generating electricity on a trial basis at 12am. At the beginning of the experimental production, 33 MW of electricity was generated. 

"Its production is expected to reach 125 to 150 MW in the afternoon. This unit will generate 125 to a maximum of 150 MW of electricity on a trial basis," he added.

The electricity generated will be supplied to the national grid. Monowar hoped the unit will generate 600 MW of electricity at its full capacity by December.

Abul Kalam Azad, the project director of the power plant, yesterday (28 July) said, if the trial operation of the first unit is successful, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the power generation in December.

The project has made significant progress, with 95% of the infrastructure work already completed, and overall area infrastructure reaching 90% completion.

As one of the major projects of the current government, the Matarbari power plant is being constructed at an estimated cost of Tk51,800 crore, with funding assistance from Japan's development agency, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Officials involved with the project state that the power plant will require 10,000 tonnes of coal per day, and each unit will need 5,000 tonnes of coal. 

Currently, 200,000 tonnes of coal have been stored, and on 7 August, another ship carrying 65,000 tonnes of coal will arrive at the power plant's jetty area.

To facilitate coal storage, four tanks have been constructed in the project area, each with a capacity of storing 1.7 million tonnes.

Additionally, two jetties have been built to directly unload coal from ships into the tanks. These tanks can store enough coal for 60 days, and it takes approximately one and a half to two days to unload the coal from a ship.