US conglomerate GE said it will be providing its gas turbine technology upgrade for a 718-megawatt LNG-powered plant in Meghnaghat, Bangladesh.
The developer of the plant is Reliance Bangladesh LNG & Power, a joint venture between India’s Reliance Power and Japan’s JERA.
The plant will utilize regasified LNG to generate the equivalent electricity needed to supply more than 850,000 homes in Bangladesh.
GE secured the contract from the Meghnaghat plant’s EPC contractor, South Korea’s Samsung C&T.
Th US firm said the plant would feature two 9F gas turbines, one D11 steam turbine and three H53 generators.
GE’s contract with Samsung C&T includes GE’s AGP upgrade for two 9F.03 gas turbines, but also steam turbine refurbishment along with control upgrades and parts supply.
Once implemented, the upgrade will increase the power output up to 6.7% and provide a boost in heat rate.
This includes up to 2% increase in efficiency, enhanced operational flexibility and extending the maintenance interval up to 32,000 hours.
“Bangladesh needs massive push to develop a robust power infrastructure that can sustain long-term power supply to meet the needs of the progressing economy, which is currently among the top 5 fastest growing economies,” said Ranjan Lohar, CEO, Reliance Bangladesh LNG & Power.
He added the project would give a “tremendous boost” to the economic and industrial growth of Bangladesh.
It would also help to enhance the energy supply with “clean and reliable” LNG-based power, he said.
Meghnaghat, situated near Dhaka, is a strategic location having multiple private sector power plants feeding power to the capital city.
Financing closed
In a releated development, the Reliance-Jera joint venture said on Friday it has signed a loan deal for full financing of the project totaling $642 million.
The financing has been approved by a group of banks including JBIC and the Asian Development Bank.
Reliance has a 51 percent stake in the LNG-to-power project while Jera owns the rest.
Bangladesh Power Development Board will take the electricity generated by the project under a 22-year deal.
The deal starts after the project’s commercial operations expected in 2022.
