Unprepared port propels Payra power’s imported coal price
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2022
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
Unprepared port propels Payra power’s imported coal price

Infrastructure

Eyamin Sajid
18 September, 2019, 10:05 am
Last modified: 18 September, 2019, 12:24 pm

Related News

  • India doubles down on coal as heatwave worsens power crisis
  • India aims to boost coal output by up to 100 million tonnes, reopen closed mines
  • India power minister tells states to step up coal imports for 3 years: Sources
  • Coal still top threat to global climate goals: Report
  • Bangladesh to quadruple coal capacity: Global Energy Monitor

Unprepared port propels Payra power’s imported coal price

As the port is not ready, cargos carrying coal will come half-loaded and we will have to pay the full charge, which means a doubling of costs

Eyamin Sajid
18 September, 2019, 10:05 am
Last modified: 18 September, 2019, 12:24 pm

The Payra coal-fired power plant is importing the first batch of coal from Indonesia today for its test run — but at a higher transportation cost.

A large ship with a capacity of 70,000 tonnes will carry only 30,000 tonnes of coal to a jetty near the Payra deep seaport.

The freighter cannot bring coal to its full capacity because the port does not have a deep enough draft to handle heavy ships.

Project sources said the price for transporting this amount of coal will stand at around $25 to $27 per tonne, although it would be $18 if 70,000 tonnes could be imported at a time.

This implies that Bangladesh will have to pay the additional charge as penalty for unutilised capacity.

The authorities concerned could not rent a smaller ship as all long-haul ships for carrying coal have a 70,000-tonne capacity each.

The 1320-megawatt Payra power plant, set for partial generation from next December, will have to pay an extra cost of around $36 million annually for coal transportation until the Payra port is ready to operate as a deep seaport.

This will increase the cost of the project as well as the per unit electricity generation, as per the project implementation agency.

PT Bayan Resources Tbk, an Indonesia-based coal mining company, is supplying the coal under an agreement with the Bangladesh-China Power Company Limited, the project implementing agency.

The country will import four million tonnes of coal annually for this plant at a rate of $70 per tonne with another $18 as transportation cost.

"As the port is not ready, cargos carrying coal will come half-loaded and we will have to pay the full charge, which means a doubling of costs," said Shah Abdul Maula, project director of the Payra thermal power plant.

For a fully-loaded freighter to ply smoothly, there should be a 12 to 13 metre depth in the riverbed, which is now only four to five metres around the Payra port, he added.

The more alarming issue is that even a half-loaded ship during the dry season would not be able to anchor at the coal jetty due to poor navigability, he further said.

As a result, the ship will have to carry half its capacity, or else it will get stuck in the riverbed. 

On the other hand, if the ship comes with full capacity, it will have to anchor at the deep sea, and lighter boats would be required to unload the imported coal, hiking the cost even further.

The Payra Port Authority under the Ministry of Shipping has been working to construct the third seaport by 2021, in three phases, at Payra in Patuakhali, with Sonadia and Matarbari being the other two.

The port authority agreed that coal import will be costlier due to the unprepared port.

"The navigability of the port would improve within two years. Till then, the authorities need to anchor the mother vessel in the deep sea and have to use lighter boats to unload the coal," said Abdus Samad, secretary to the Ministry of Shipping.

Generally, the production cost of a unit of electricity is Tk5. But due to this costly imported coal, one kilowatt power generation at this station would cost more than Tk7.

Currently, the country has only one coal-fired power station at Barapukuria in Dinajpur, which has been operating with coal supply from the nearby coal mine.

Special Stories / Top News

Payra plant / coal

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Corporates go cashless…tax cut on cards
    Corporates go cashless…tax cut on cards
  • A Russian army service member fires a howitzer during drills at the Kuzminsky range in the southern Rostov region, Russia January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov/File Photo
    3 months of Ukraine war : Miscalculations, resistance and redirected focus
  • Rising revenue collection a false dawn, economists say
    Rising revenue collection a false dawn, economists say

MOST VIEWED

  • Representational Image. Photo: Mumit M/TBS
    DAP to create equilibrium among development projects
  • Photo: Saikat Bhadra/TBS
    Elevated expressway: Deadline may be extended again
  • Picture: Mohammad Minhaz Uddin/TBS
    Chattogram heading for carbon catastrophe: Report
  • IDCOL invests $2b in 25 years
    IDCOL invests $2b in 25 years
  • Photo: Mumit M/TBS
    Rooppur nuclear plant: Dome construction at Unit 1 begins 
  • BSCIC projects progress at turtle’s pace
    BSCIC projects progress at turtle’s pace

Related News

  • India doubles down on coal as heatwave worsens power crisis
  • India aims to boost coal output by up to 100 million tonnes, reopen closed mines
  • India power minister tells states to step up coal imports for 3 years: Sources
  • Coal still top threat to global climate goals: Report
  • Bangladesh to quadruple coal capacity: Global Energy Monitor

Features

A Russian army service member fires a howitzer during drills at the Kuzminsky range in the southern Rostov region, Russia January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov/File Photo

3 months of Ukraine war : Miscalculations, resistance and redirected focus

35m | Analysis
Musk is denying the sexual harassment allegation that surfaced this week. Photo: Bloomberg

Elon Musk’s crazily banal week 

18h | Panorama
Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED: A touch of brilliance to your life

Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED: A touch of brilliance to your life

22h | Brands
Keep your phone by your side with this armband

Keep your phone by your side with this armband

19h | Brands

More Videos from TBS

How to maintain a good relationship with colleagues

How to maintain a good relationship with colleagues

20m | Videos
Why are Duranta TV shows popular?

Why are Duranta TV shows popular?

14h | Videos
Donbas is hell, says Zelenskiy

Donbas is hell, says Zelenskiy

15h | Videos
Threat of Monkeypox on the horizon

Threat of Monkeypox on the horizon

15h | Videos

Most Read

1
Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
Bangladesh

Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge

2
A packet of US five-dollar bills is inspected at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
Banking

Dollar hits Tk100 mark in open market

3
Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi
Bangladesh

Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi

4
PK Halder: How a scamster rose from humble beginnings to a Tk11,000cr empire
Crime

PK Halder: How a scamster rose from humble beginnings to a Tk11,000cr empire

5
BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies
Stocks

BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies

6
The reception is a volumetric box-shaped room that has two glass walls on both the front and back ends and the other two walls are adorned with interior plants, wood and aluminium screens. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Habitat

The United House: Living and working inside nature

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab