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The SS Power Plant, a 1320-megawatt facility at Gondamara of Banshkhali in Chattogram, successfully began its commercial power generation on Monday.
One of the power plant’s two 660-megawatt units started supplying electricity to the national grid at full capacity starting at 12:01 am, according to a company statement.
Prior to this milestone, officials from the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) conducted inspections at the power plant, it said.
The power plant started its official induction into the national grid on 14 January, with the first and second units undergoing test runs on 24 May and 28 June respectively.
SS Power Plant is owned jointly by Bangladesh’s S. Alam Group, with a 70 per cent stake, and China’s SEPCOIII and HTG 30 holding a 30 per cent stake.
Chief Financial Officer of SS Power Plant Md Ebadat Hossain Bhuiyan, said, “Today is an exciting day for the people of our country.
“With the cooperation of PDB and all concerned, we have successfully started commercial production of the SS Power Plant at 12:01 am and that electricity is being added to the national grid.
“I strongly believe the commercial production of this power plant will contribute significantly to the daily lives of the people and the national economy.”
SS Power Plant is the country’s first large private coal-based thermal electricity project that has attracted such a substantial investment of US$2.6 billion (Tk 280 billion) from a single private entity, the company statement noted.
Compared to other power plants, this power plant’s electricity will be more cost-efficient. At full production capacity, it is projected to supply about 293 million units of electricity per day and about 880 million units per month.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese President Xi Jinping jointly initiated the project for the SS Power Plant in 2016, following the signing of an agreement between the BPDB and SS Power.