First ever waste-based power plant on the cards

The government, for the first time, is going to set up a 50-megawatt power plant that will run on garbage of the capital. Electricity and organic fertiliser are produced from waste in different countries. When Bangladesh goes for generating power from waste, it will reduce the power crunch and garbage will be properly managed. The plant will be set up on a piece of land within the area of Dhaka City Corporation and waste generated within the DCC will be used by the plant. The local government division will place a proposal in this regard at the meeting of the cabinet committee on purchase today. The LGRD has recommended awarding the job of the power plant to lowest bidder Management Environment Finance SEL of Italy after scrutinising the proposals of six companies. The government will purchase electricity from the company for Tk 8.75 a kilowatt. The agreement between the government and the company will be for 20 years and the company will run it on Build Own Operate basis. After signing of the agreement, the company will implement the project with its own finance. It will implement the project within three years. In 20 years the government will have to pay the company Tk 6,882 crore. The LGRD proposal said Dhaka city produces about 5,000 tonnes of garbage a day. As the waste could not be managed properly, it has been polluting environment.