The Bangladesh government has decided to import coal instead of extracting it from Phulbari, the largest coal mine discovered in Bangladesh. It was a difficult decision to take. Economy of the country is growing fast in spite of political turmoil, corruption and lack of good governance. Private sector is leading the growth. Booming private industries are power hungry and as a result country is facing serious energy crisis.
Power generation is a must, but no significant new reserve of gas was discovered in last few years. Coal is being extracted from Barapukuria coal mine. Government is planning to build large scale coal powered generation facility in the country.
After strong protest from environmental activists against Phulbari open pit coal mine project the government has decided that it will not extract coal from there now. It will wait for technological advancement and it is optimistic that eco friendly coal extraction method or better coal gas technology will be available in future. Bangladesh depends heavily on its agriculture and at this time Bangladesh can’t afford to destroy its farmland.
The government is planning to lease suitable coal fields in abroad for its mega power plant to be built in near future to meet the growing energy demand.
