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Dhaka Friday,  Mar 29, 2024

JICA plan for urbanisation in Moheshkhali

State minister for power and energy Nasrul Hamid on Wednesday requested Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to design a master plan in six months for urbanisation in Moheshkhali Island to accommodate the future economic activities there in a meeting, said a power divisions officials.
The government is expecting huge economic activities in Moheshkhali Island as it planned to set up imported coal-fired power plants with 9,000MW capacity and other related establishments and terminals for importing and processing of liquefied natural gas or LNG there. Besides, the planned project in setting up of a deep sea port at Shonadia Island in Cox’s Bazar would also create a demand for urbanisation at Moheshkhali sland to facilitate the economic activities, he said again.
Nasrul requested JICA to keep the eco-sensitivity and potentials of tourism in mind during designing the master plan for the urbanisation of Moheshkhali, he said. He asked for the support at a meeting where a Jica technical team made a presentation on imported coal terminal at Moheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar district, he said.
The terminal would handle between 50,000 tonnes and 80,000 tonnes of imported coal a day to feed power plants.
The JICA team made the presentation before the state minister two days after signing five financial deals with Bangladesh, of which one is $406 million contract to set up a 1,200MW imported coal-fired power plant at Matarbari of Moheshkhali island, said Muhammad Hossain Director General, Power Cell.
Coal Power Generation Company of Bangladesh is implementing the 1,200MW project with the financial and technical assistance of Japan government.
Power division secretary Monwar Islam, additional secretary Tapash Kumar Roy, power cell director general Md Hossain and CPGCB’s managing director Md Abul Kashem attended the meeting among others.
Md Hossain, after the meeting, said JICA accepted the proposal of the state minister in principle. They would conduct two studies, one for coal terminal and the other for urbanisation in Moheshkhali, and would submit the reports in six months, he said.
The government has planned to acquire some 12,000 acres of land at two locations in the island for setting up of a number of big power plants, coal terminal, coal yards, power substations and office and residential areas. It has already acquired over 5,000 acres of land at Matarbari in Moheshkhali in this purpose.

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