ZCZC
BSS-04
ADB-ASSISTANCE-APPROVAL
ADB approves $357m to develop power transmission lines
DHAKA, July 31, 2018 (BSS)-The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of
Directors has approved an assistance package totaling more than $357 million
for a project to develop two power lines in support of Bangladesh’s national
target of electricity for all by 2021.
The investments comprise a $350 million ADB loan, a $7 million grant from
the Japan Fund for the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JFJCM) to partially finance
new high-technology energy efficient conductors, and a $500,000 grant from
the Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund (EAKPF) to
promote socially inclusive growth with gender equality, said an ADB press
release today.
“Bangladesh has been experiencing impressive economic growth over the last
decade, but to maintain and even accelerate this, more investments are needed
for the power transmission network to meet growing electricity demand,” said
ADB Senior Energy Specialist Aiming Zhou.
“In support of this, the ADB project will make the power transmission
system more efficient, reliable, and environmentally friendly.” added the ADB
specialist.
The release said a top priority of the government is to address
infrastructure deficiencies, including modern and affordable energy services,
which face recurring shortages and ever-rising demand.
About 35 million people in the country are without access to electricity.
Inadequate transmission lines and substation transformer capacities in the
southern and western regions are the main contributors to transmission
bottlenecks.
At the same time, construction of new transmission lines has become more
challenging because of the high population density and limited rights-of-way.
The Southwest Transmission Grid Expansion Project builds on ADB’s previous
work in the Bangladesh power sector, including the recently approved Rupsha
800 megawatt Combines Cycle Power Plant in the southwest region, to address
continuing deficiencies in the transmission system through providing more
efficient power transfer to the load centers of the southern and western
zones.
The project will develop a 126- kilometer (km) 230 kilovolt (kV)
transmission line from Barisal to Faridpur; and a 104 -km 400 kV transmission
line from Bogra to Rohanpur, along with substations, transformers, and
associated extensions and connections.
The new transmission lines will introduce to Bangladesh a new type of high
temperature conductor to allow more power transfer at lower energy losses.
These have less resistance to power flow, higher power transferring
capacity, and operate more reliably in tropical weather. In addition, the use
of these conductors also helps to minimize right-of-way requirements.
The project is also contributing to climate change mitigation, since the
new conductors reduce carbon dioxide emissions compared to conventional
transmission conductors that are used in Bangladesh.
This climate change mitigation accounts for $93 million of the investment,
comprising $86 million from the ADB loan and $7 million from the JFJCM grant.
Under the EAKPF grant, the project will fund a scholarship program that
will support women’s access to higher education and boost their job
opportunities in the electricity industry.
The government will contribute $174.5 million toward the $532 million total
cost of the project, which is due for completion at the end of June 2023.
BSS/PR/GM/AKM 1110hrs