Ship carrying over 26,000 tonnes of coal for Rampal plant arrives in Mongla

A Chinese ship carrying over 26,000 tonnes of coal for the Rampal thermal power plant has arrived at the Mongla Port in a welcome development amid an electricity crisis in Bangladesh.

The ship docked at the Harbaria Anchorage at 5 am on Saturday, according to Khandkar Riazul Haque, assistant manager of the Chinese vessel's local shipping agent Togi Shipping and Logistics Ltd.

It started its journey from Indonesia on May 21. Work is underway to unload the coal from the vessel, said Riazul.

Bangladesh is currently grappling with an acute power supply crisis, worsened by the suspension of operations at the 1,320 MW Payra power plant, the country's largest, due to a shortage of coal.

Last month, two shipments of 30,000 tonnes and 30,500 tonnes of coal arrived in Mongla for the Rampal plant.

In August 2010, Bangladesh Power Development Board and India's state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation signed an initial deal to build the power plant in Bagerhat’s Rampal.

Two years later, on Jan 29, 2012, an agreement was signed with NTPC to build the plant under a joint venture.

The plant has been at the centre of controversy since its inception as environmentalists mounted a strong campaign to address the negative impact the coal-fired plant would have on the nearby Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world.

It has also had to suspend output on several occasions due to coal shortages. Each unit of the plant requires 5,000 tonnes of coal daily to operate.