NEW DELHI: The first unit of the 1,320 MW (megawatt) Rampal power plant in Bangladesh, built by a joint venture between NTPC and Bangladesh Power Development Board, has been formally declared commercially operational, said India’s state-run company on Tuesday.
The commissioning of the 660 MW unit marks the first overseas capacity addition for India’s largest power producer and adds depth to the bilateral energy ties.
The $2-billion project is being built with Indian development assistance of $1.6 billion under a concessional financing scheme.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina had in September last year jointly inaugurated the plant located in Bagerhat district of Khulna division, two hours by road from Kolkata.
The plant had started feeding power into the Bangladesh grid in December but had to cease operation as a forex crunch faced by Bangladesh led to coal shortage. It resumed operation in February. The unit needs 5,000 tonne of coal per day to operate at about 80% capacity.
