Dhaka: Though it had earlier indicated that the 1320-MW coal-fired power plant could be relocated from Banshkhali, Chittagong, the government on Sunday said it will continue to support S Alam Group to construct the plant at the existing site.

'We'll continue to lend our full support to S Alam Group to set up the power plant in Banshkhali as the location was selected after conducting the environmental impact assessment (EIA),’ Prime Minister's Energy Adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury said while briefing reporters on different aspects of the power plant.

State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid recently said the government would consider if S Alam Group pleads for shifting the power plant from Banshkhali.

When his attention was drawn to the junior minister's statement, Tawfiq-e-Elahi said Nasrul might have made the remarks with an innocent mind. ‘It would have been better had he made no such statement.’

Nasrul Hamid, who was sitting by the Energy Adviser during the briefing, did not make any comment on the issue.

The PM’s adviser said S Alam Group has been implementing the power plant project under public-private partnership (PPP) as per a plan of the government.

Power Secretary Monwar Islam said the business firm has invested in the project over $US 1 billion under a joint venture with foreign firms. This firm has met all compliances to set up the plant.

He also said the S Alam Group has procured the land from private owners making full payment.

‘When I visited Banshkhali a few months back, no body raised any objection about the project,’ he said, claiming that a certain quarter is engaged in an evil campaign against the coal-fired power plant.

The secretary alleged that the vested quarter is spreading misleading stories that if the power plant is set up in the area, mothers' breasts will dry up and their children will not get milk. ‘These all were made with an ill-motive,’ he said.

He said the government has planned to generate 60,000 MW by 2041 when the country achieves the status of a developed nation.

To meet the demand, the government has taken huge projects to generate 50 percent of the power from coal-fired power plants.

S Alam Group's adviser and former PDB chairman SM Alamgir Kabir informed the press conference that it has bought land in Banshkhali from 550 people and paid them in full.