Bangladesh, in order to meet growing electricity needs, has finally decided to form a hydropower company to tap the potential of this relatively unexplored field.
The company will not only generate power from hydroelectricity sources, but will also facilitate hydel power imports from neighbouring countries, officials said in Dhaka.
“To form the company, a memorandum of association (MoA) and articles of association (AoA) were finalised,” said Mohammad Hossain, director general (DG), Power Cell, a state-owned entity under the power, energy and
mineral resources ministry.
“The legal infrastructure for setting up the company under the power division is being prepared. It will be registered with the registrar of joint stock companies and firms,” the Power Cell DG said.
Hossain said the company is likely to be named Hydro Power Generation Company Ltd.
He said after the company is formed, large-scale surveys and studies would be conducted to identify the country’s hydroelectric potential.
The 230-megawatt (MW) Karnafuli hydroelectric power station, built in 1962, is currently the only major source of hydel power in Bangladesh.
A recent study conducted by a US-based consultancy firm, Streams Tech Inc (STI), noted that two rivers in the southeastern Chittagong Hill Tracts could potentially generate 79MW.
The study observed that 58.33MW power could be generated from the Sangu river and 20.83MW from the Matamuhuri river.
“The new company will conduct more studies like this,” Hossain said, adding that the main purpose of forming the company is to arrange imports of electricity from the hydropower plants in neighbouring high-altitude countries like Nepal and Bhutan.