Can Bangladesh beat decarbonization challenge to achieve growth?

Travails of coal power project point to difficult economic road ahead

20230519 Asian Analysis

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina aims for Bangladesh to become a developed nation, but the nation's flawed power supply system could derail such plans. The country's giant Matarbari coal-fired power project has been scaled back amid concerns over its environmental impact. (Photos by Reuters and Toru Takahashi)

TORU TAKAHASHI, Nikkei senior staff writer

TOKYO -- Located in the middle of a vast salt field in southern Bangladesh, the Matarbari coal-fired power plant is big by any standard. When completed, the $6 billion project is expected to generate 1.2 gigawatts of electricity, equivalent to a large nuclear reactor and enough to meet 30% of the power demand in the Dhaka metropolitan area.

Named the Matarbari Ultra Super Critical Coal-Fired Power Project, the facility consists of two thermal units and has been 70% financed by yen loans from Japan. Its power generation efficiency, projected at 42%, will be among the highest in the world for coal power plants.

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