Wärtsilä has signed another agreement to supply power generating equipment to Bangladesh.
This latest order, which was booked in October 2017, is a 100MW power plant project in Chittagong being built by Karnaphuli Power Ltd, owned by Baraka Group. It is the seventh order that Wärtsilä has received this year for power generating equipment from Bangladeshi companies.
The baseload plant will be powered by six Wärtsilä 50 engines running on heavy fuel oil (HFO). The low heat rate, high efficiency and excellent reliability of this engine were emphasised in the award of this contract.
The project is being executed on a fast-track basis and Wärtsilä’s ability to comply with a demanding delivery schedule was another important factor. The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery in January and the plant is expected to be operational in May.
Wärtsilä Bangladesh managing director Mr Jillur Rahim said: “In order to support its social and economic growth, Bangladesh has an urgent need for more generating capacity.
“Wärtsilä has the flexibility to respond to this need by providing fast-track deliveries and strong locally based expertise.”
Baraka Group chairman Faisal Ahmed Chowdhury stated: “It has been a pleasure to work with Wärtsilä on this project as they have gone out of their way to meet our requirements, both with their equipment and the delivery arrangements.
“With such a demanding schedule, we needed full cooperation and Wärtsilä has provided it.”
The government of Bangladesh is making a strong effort to increase the number of households with access to electricity.
As of 2016, only 76% of the country’s houses were connected to the grid, and the aim is to increase this to 98% by the year 2021.
When operational, the Karnaphuli plant will bring Wärtsilä’s total power supply to Bangladesh to more than 4000MW.
