Rampal Power Station (Proposed)

Proposed Rampal Power Station
Location of Proposed Rampal Power Station in Bangladesh
Official name Rampal Biddyut Kendro
Country Bangladesh
Location Rampal Upazila of Bagerhat District
Coordinates 22°34′00″N 89°39′50″E / 22.5667°N 89.6639°ECoordinates: 22°34′00″N 89°39′50″E / 22.5667°N 89.6639°E
Owner(s) National Thermal Power Corporation (India) and Bangladesh Power Development Board (Bangladesh)
Thermal power station
Primary fuel Coal
Power generation
Nameplate capacity 1320 MW

The Rampal power station (Bengali: রামপাল বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্র) is a proposed 1320 megawatt coal-fired power station at Rampal Upazila of Bagerhat District in Khulna, Bangladesh.[1] It is a joint partnership between India's state owned National Thermal Power Corporation and Bangladesh Power Development Board. The joint venture company is known as Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company (BIFPC).[2] The proposed project, on an area of over 1834 acres of land, is situated 14 kilometres north of the world's largest mangrove forest Sundarbans which is a UNESCO world heritage site. It will be the country's largest power plant.[3]

Agreements

In August 2010, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and India's state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) where they designated to implement the project by 2016.[4] On January 29, 2012, the Bangladesh Power Development Board signed an agreement with NTPC to build the plant.[5] The joint venture company is known as Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company (BIFPC).[6] The BPDB and the NTPC agreed to implement the project on a 50:50 equity basis. The NTPC will set up and operate the plant.[7] Bangladesh and India will equally share up to 30 per cent of the capital of this project as equity. The remainder of the capital, which might be equivalent to USD 1.5 billion, will be taken as bank loans with help from the NTPC. According to the sources in the Bangladesh Power Division, the joint venture company will enjoy a 15-year tax holiday.[8]

Environmental issues

This project violates the environmental impact assessment guidelines for coal-based thermal power plants.[2]

On August 1, 2013 Department of Energy of Bangladesh approved construction, but then changed its stance and set 50 preconditions for the project.[9] But the location of the plant, 14 kilometers from the Sundarbans, violates one of the basic preconditions which says such projects must be outside a 25-kilometer radius from the outer periphery of an ecologically sensitive area.[2]

The Rampal station is against The Ramsar Convention. The Ramsar Convention is the only global environmental treaty that deals with the preservation of wetlands. Bangladesh signed the convention in 1992. Sundarbans and Tanguar Haor are marked as Ramsar area. The authority of the global body expressed worry about the proposed plant.[10]

The plant will need to import 4.72 million tons of coal per year. This massive freight will need about 59 ships each having 80,000-ton capacity that would be taken to the port on the bank of Poshur river. The 40 kilometers from the port to the plant cuts through the Sundarbans and it includes the river flow path. Environmentalists say these coal-carrying vehicles are not often covered as they scatter large amounts of fly ash, coal dust and sulfur, and other toxic chemicals are released throughout the life of the project.

The predictions made by environment and ecology experts are that the plant will release toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and sulphur dioxide, thereby putting the surrounding areas and, most importantly, Sundarban at grave risk.[11]

According to a report published in New Age, in past few years the Indian central and state authorities which deal with environmental concerns in India denied the proposal of NTPC to set up a similar coal-fired thermal power plant at Gajmara in Gadarwara of Madhya Pradesh over a number of points. NTPC failed to get approval of the Indian Central Green Panel (Green Tribunal) in 2010 for the construction of that coal-fired thermal power plant because a vast portion of double-crop agricultural land reportedly comprised the site, a similar situation to Rampal.[12]

Opposition

On March 1, 2011, a bench of Bangladesh High Court asked the government "why the construction of the plant should not be declared illegal".[13] Environmental experts have expressed concerns that the proposed plant at Rampal in Bagerhat might destroy the world’s largest mangrove forest Sundarbans, a UNESCO world heritage site. Faridul Islam, chief coordinator of Save the Sundarbans, pointed out that the selected location of the project was only nine kilometres from Sundarban. About 2.5 million people depend on the Sundarban region, such as wood-cutters, fishermen, and honey hunters.

The National Committee on Protection of Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, and Power-Port, environmentalist groups, bodies of the left-leaning parties and general people of Bangladesh vowed to resist the planned inauguration of the Rampal Power Plant scheduled on 22 October 2013.[14] On September 24, 2013 thousands of people in Bangladesh began a rally for 5 days and 400 kilometers to oppose the power plant. Their march began in the capital city of Dhaka and moved towards the Sundarbans.[2]

In India too there has been some fragmented opposition of the power plant. In his interview with Siddharth Sivakumar of the Indian cultural website Tinpahar, Shayan Chowdhury Arnob said on this issue, "The Rampal Power Plant might become the biggest Power Plant, but it would cost the world its largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans. Sundarbans has its life in numerous intertwined organic chains. When a chain is broken everything would fall apart, one after the other. Money has nothing to do with development or happiness; it's about our attitude to life."[15]

Government's points

The government of Bangladesh rejected the allegations that the coal-based power plant would adversely affect the world’s largest mangrove forest.[14] The energy adviser of the Bangladeshi prime minister said that the controversy over the power plant and its impact on the Sundarbans was “not based on facts”. He also said that the plant will not negatively affect the mangrove forest because the emission of green house gas will be kept at the minimum level. The government also affirmed they will import high quality coal, build a 275 metre high chimney, employ state-of-the art technology and other steps to keep its impact on the Sundarbans at a negligible level.[16]

See also

References