Coal arrives at Matarbari Power Plant, production set to resume
Electricity production is expected to resume at the Matarbari coal-fired power plant in Moheshkhali, Cox's Bazar, from 1 December after a month-long shutdown as a Panama-flagged vessel carrying 70,000 tonnes of coal from Indonesia arrived at the plant on 27 November.
Saifur Rahman, chief engineer of the Coal Power Generation Company, confirmed that the unloading of coal from the ship had begun.
"This is the first shipment of coal imported by Meghna Group. With this supply, the 1,200 MW plant's two units are expected to restart production on Sunday," he said.
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The plant, which comprises two units each producing 600 MW, had ceased operations on 31 October due to a coal shortage.
Earlier, Sumitomo Corporation of Japan had been contracted to supply coal for the plant's commissioning process. However, this agreement ended in August.
The plant's supervisory engineer, Manowar Hossain Majumder, said the original agreement with Sumitomo facilitated the import of 2205000 tonnes of coal for the plant's commissioning.
The first unit of the Tk51,854 crore plant began operation in July 2023, while the second unit became operational in December 2023, he said.
Plant officials are optimistic that production will restart within three to four days, contributing electricity to the national grid.
