KUALA LUMPUR: The consortium of Malaysia’s Edra Power Holdings Sdn Bhd and Bangladesh’s Winnievision Power Ltd (Edra-WPL) has secured a contract to build a 660-megawatt power plant in the South Asian nation.

       This engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build the liquified natural gas (LNG)-based combined cycle power plant was awarded by Bangladesh Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) recently to supply electricity to the national grid, according to Bangladesh’s Daily Sun newspaper.

       Bangladesh’s power plants heavily favour natural gas, generating around 65% of its electricity using domestic natural gas as a source. And with domestic natural gas fields depleted, the government plans to increase the use of imported LNG.

       The country’s electrical generation capacity has increased from about 5 gigawatts in 2009 to 25 gigawatts in 2021 to meet the country’s ever-growing demand for electricity while access to energy has expanded to nearly 95 per cent of the population.

       It was reported that the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will be the sole off-taker from the plant to supply electricity to the national grid for 22 years.

       Edra Group, with two combine cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants, is the second largest independent power producer in Bangladesh.

       According to a source from Edra’s Dhaka office, having new assets means Edra’s employees can be re-deployed from its expiring assets.

       Edra’s commitment to the countries that it is operating in is evident in its long-term operations and active role in community development that saw the creation of job opportunities and economic activities. - Bernama