India and Bangladesh sign deal for construction of coal fired power plant

India and Bangladesh on 12 July 2016 signed a landmark deal for the construction of Rampal Power Station, a 1320 megawatt coal fired power plant.

The Rampal Power Station is the biggest project under bilateral cooperation.

Key highlights of the agreement

• The Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Limited (BIFPCL), the joint venture enterprise, signed the deal with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).

• BHEL was chosen under an open international tender for constructing the super thermal plant at Bangladesh's southwestern Rampal near the Sundarbans.

• India's Exim Bank will provide 1.49 billion US dollars for the project.

• The project is scheduled to start generating power in 2019.

About Rampal Power Station

• The Rampal Power Station is a proposed 1320 megawatt coal-fired power station at Rampal Upazila of Bagerhat District in Khulna, Bangladesh.

• It is a joint partnership between India's state owned National Thermal Power Corporation and Bangladesh Power Development Board.

• The project is also known as Maitree Super Thermal Power Project.

• The proposed project will be constructed on an area of over 1834 acres of land.

• It is situated 14 kilometres north of the world's largest mangrove forest Sundarbans, which is a UNESCO world heritage site.

• The project will be Bangladesh’s largest power plant.

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