16 February 2019 | Bdnews24.com
-----------------------
Bangladesh’s North-West Power Generation Company has signed an initial deal with Siemens AG of Germany to build an LNG-based power plant in Patuakhali’s Payra.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was in Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference, witnessed the signing at the Sheraton hotel in the city on Friday, Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque told the media.
Joe Kaeser, the global president and CEO of Siemens AG, was also present.
In 2017, the two firms signed a memorandum of understanding for the 3,600 megawatt plant, which will be the largest in the country.
The estimated cost of the project is $2.8 billion, 80 percent of which is expected to come from loans and rest will remain as equity.
After the signing, Power Secretary Ahmad Kaikaus told bdnews24.com that the deal was about appointment of contractor and import of liquefied natural gas, or LNG.
The power plant will have three 1,200MW units. The signing ceremony was told that a survey was under way to check how the imported LNG will be brought to the plant.
The Bangladesh government has a series of large infrastructure projects in Payra, including a port and economic zone for the development of the country's southern region.