ADB signs USD 200 million deal with Reliance for power plant in Bangladesh
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a $200 million financing deal with the Reliance Bangladesh LNG and Power Limited to build and operate a 718-megawatt combined-cycle-gas-fired power plant in Bangladesh.
Highlights
As per the Asian Development Bank, the project is going to ease ongoing energy shortages and drive further private sector investments in the country’s power sector. A combined-cycle power plant is a relatively more efficient way of producing electricity because it uses both a gas and a steam turbine together to produce up to 50 per cent more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional simple-cycle plant. The plant is to be located on land allotted by Bangladesh Power Development Board in Narayanganj District near Dhaka in the country.
Details of the Deal
The financing deal has two components of $100 million each out of which ADB will provide $100 million. The rest of the fund will be provided by the ADB through Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP).
LEAP
LEAP was established in 2016 with a total capital of $1.5 billion for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Significance
This new power plant will reduce the dependence of the country on electricity imports. This project will also reduce the share of environmentally harmful and expensive fuels like coal and oil in the energy mix of the country, once it is operational completely.
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Month: Current Affairs - August, 2020