Tk 8,690cr project to bring 1cr people under power coverage

Sayeed Muhammad of DOT
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved nine projects of Tk 16,433 crore, including a Tk 8,690-crore project to bring some 1 crore people under the electricity coverage across the country.
The approval came from the 2nd ECNEC held at the NEC conference room in Dhaka its Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair yesterday, reports UNB.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan said a total of nine projects involving Tk 16,433.27 crore were approved in the meeting. Of the cost, Tk 13,620.27 crore will come from government fund, while Tk 285.61 crore from the own funds of the organisations concerned and the rest as ‘foreign loans’, he said.
In terms of the cost, the biggest project is installation of 19.5 lakh client connections through Extension of Rural Electrification (1st revised) Project involving Tk 8,690.89 crore.
About the project, the minister said some 1 crore people will come under the electricity coverage across the country as some 20 lakh new connections will be installed under the project.
Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) under the Power Division will implement the project by June 2020.
ECNEC also cleared three other power-related projects, which are Construction of Simple Cycle (HSD-based) Syedpur 150-Megawatt Power Plant with an estimated cost of Tk 1,000.99 crore, Rangpur Division Power Supply Line and Sub-station Extension and Rehabilitation Project with Tk 1,123.85 crore and Rajshahi Division Power Supply Line and Sub-station Extension and Rehabilitation Project with Tk 1,091.32 crore.
Of the three projects, the BREB will implement the first project by June 2021, while Northern Electricity Supply Company (NESCO) Ltd will implement the last two by June 2022.