2 units of Karnaphuli Power Plant likely put on rehabilitation

After a long period of about 18 years, two units (Unit-1 and Unit-2) of the Karnaphuli Hydro Power Plant (KHPP) -- known as Kaptai Hydro power plant -- are going to be rehabilitated.

According to official sources, this will be the second rehabilitation for the country's oldest, only hydro power generation plant established in 1962.

Earlier, the first rehabilitation works were carried out in two units of the plant in 1995-97 and then their operation resumed and continued until 2014. In the meantime, Unit-1 ran for 88,564 hours and Unit-2 for 106,696 hours.

However, occasional and temporary repair works were conducted in different segments and equipment of the two units of Austria's Vetech Hydro-made KHPP at different times since resumption of their operation for the second time in 1997.

The KHPP has total four units with total generation capacity of 230 MW. But now the plant is producing only 30-40 MW due to shutdown of unit-1 and unit-2 and also operational problem in other units as well.

 Following its fall in the capacity, the state-owned Power Development Board (PDB) took the move to place Unit-1 and Unit-2 of the plant into the rehabilitation.

According to a board decision, the PDB invited international tender to carry out the rehabilitation work in the two units.

Two international consortiums submitted technical and financial offers for the project. They were (1) Consortium of Voith Hydro GmbH of Germany and Voith Hydro Pvt of Germany, and (2) Consortium of LLC Inter RAO Engineering and LLC Kharkovenerggoremont.

But the PDB’s technical evaluation committee found the technical offer of Consortium of LLC Inter RAO Engineering and LLC Kharkovenerggoremont as non-responsive.

PDB official documents, obtained by the UNB, shows that the German-Indian consortium has offered to execute the rehabilitation work at a cost of about Tk 77.51 crore including tax and VAT to be paid by the PDB.

The consortium will also work for ‘spillway and fore-bay channel’ under the same contract on a turnkey basis.

After approval of the offer by the PDB board, it was sent to the Power Division to get the final approval of the Cabinet Purchase Committee.

It is expected that the Cabinet Purchase Committee will consider the proposal in its meeting tomorrow (Wednesday).

PDB officials hope that after completion of the rehabilitation, the plant will have increased generation capacity.