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 per cent of which is expected to come from loans and the rest will remain as equity.
After the signing, Power Secretary Ahmad Kaikaus said 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.
MEETING WITH VERIDOS CEO
Sheikh Hasina also held a meeting with Hans Wolfgang Kunz, the CEO of Veridos GmbH, at the hotel.
Veridos is implementing an e-passport project in Bangladesh, bdnews24.com reported.
Veriods hopes to start handing the passports in June 2019, according to Foreign Secretary Shahidul.
“Such advanced technology is being used in making these passports that only two countries will have these – Bangladesh and Germany,” the secretary said.
The Veridos CEO also expressed keenness to work in Bangladesh’s data security and other sectors, he added.
Bangladesh signed a MoU on the e-passport project with Veridos during Hasina’s February 2017 visit to Germany.
