Despite having one of the highest allotment as a single unit in the last National Budget, the Power Division couldn’t manage to use or spend it accordingly.
After assessing the Annual Development Program (ADP) the EnergyBangla team has found this gap between allotment and consumption.
It was also found that, almost half of the allotted amount is unspent yet. Later, in the revised budget the amount was curtailed. However, according to the reduced budget, still 40 percent of the allocated amount is somewhat intangible. Even then, there is hardly two months left to this current fiscal year.
The Power Sector was bestowed in this current fiscal year, by the maximum allocation in the national budget, which was also double comparing to the previous year. However, the allocation is not utilized properly.
The Power Division was allotted by around Tk 15,000 crore in the budget and so far, all they could spend is around Tk 9000 crore only. In some cases, the division could not find places to spend though there was enough money. In some other cases, the division couldn’t withdraw the allotted money as they failed to initiate some scheduled projects.
In our thorough assessment, it was found that, only very few projects were completed in this fiscal year. The number of 100 percent completed projects is 3, and the number of half-done projects is 29.
The division could not spend a single money on the sector’s biggest 25 projects while most of them are Power Plants. In spite of having the largest allotment, the division couldn’t put money behind power generation.
Among the projects that were not sanctioned by a single Tk, there is a solar power plant with a capacity of 5 MW. In the revised budget 80 crore still allotted for that solar power plant.
There was a plan to install prepaid meters in the southern part of Chittagong within 2016. According to the revised budget this project got an allocation of 300 crore Tk. The PDB (Power Development Board) indeed couldn’t spend a single Tk regarding this project.
According to the report of ADP, the authority couldn’t spend a single Tk in the projects of Installing prepaid meters of Rural Electrification, installing substation with a capacity under 70 thousand KV, enhancing the capacity PGCB’s Bangladesh-India transmission line, installing switching station of 11 KV at Ganabhaban and Prime Minister’s office, installing DESCO’s substation etc.
However, the authority somehow managed to spend satisfactory money on some projects. The authority have spent 137 percent to the allotted amount for 330 MW Power plant of Shahjibazar. The 400 MW power plant of Biniana has 82 percent of the allotted money spent. Again, 100 percent of the allotted money was spent successfully for the substation that will be used to import electricity from Tripura. Similarly, Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB) Ltd. has spent 100 percent for the Ashuganj power plant.
Ashuganj Power Station Company Ltd. (APSCL) has spent almost all of their allotted money. APSCL has spent nearly 97 percent of the total amount. Within this total amount, APSCL has managed to spend all of the allotted foreign debt and 65 percent of the domestic supply.
Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited (CPGCBL) has spent only 20 percent of its allotted amount. The Power Division has spent 60 percent of the allotted money in their own projects. Within this amount, it has spent 28 percent as it’s from domestic source and 82 percent from the foreign debt combining making a total of 119 crore Tk. PDB has spent 47 percent where 51 percent is from domestic sources and 45 percent from debt. At the same way, REB (Rural Electrification Board), PGCB, DPDC DESCO, Powercell, EGCB has spent 71, 54, 23, 51, and 51 percent of their allotted money respectively. However, all the companies under Power Division could spend 62.92 percent collectively.