Faulty Shipment Sparks Emergency Response
Power Division will issue a new tender for a replacement of existing supplier for Matarbari power plant 1,200MW Ultra Super Critical Coal-Fired Power Plant following a grave issue regarding inferior quality of coal being supplied by the existing supplier. The existing supplier consortium is Bangladesh’s Unique Cement Industries Limited (an entity of Meghna Group) and India’s Aditya Birla Global Trading (Singapore) Pte Ltd
Polluted coal contributes to operational challenges
The move comes after the Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited (CPGCBL) rejected the 11th shipment of coal on March 17 on grounds of soil, stones, and mud contamination, as well as high moisture content. The poor quality not only violated the quality of the supply but was even causing technical problems at the Chittagong Port as it was causing the conveyor belt for unloading to jam and break.
joint-.committee formed to investigate and reconsider
Therefore, a joint committee of the representatives of the CPGCBL, Power Division, and Power Development Board has been formed. The committee will examine the issue, listen to both arguments by the suppliers of the coal, and oversee preparations for conducting a new process of tendering. The committee will examine the already delivered coal as well as the future of the current supply contracts.
Repeated Complaints and Withheld Payments
The company has been sourcing coal from Indonesian mine owned by Aditya Birla since November 2024 on a 3.5 million tonnes supply contract for the next 12 months. It has so far shipped only 6.5 lakh tonnes but there has been a recurring quality issue.
CPGCBL Managing Director Nazmul Haque mentioned that they had brought the matter of low quality to the supplier’s notice formally and informally more than a dozen times but did not receive any satisfactory response. As a result, they had withheld 10% of the payment against all ten earlier shipments.
Coal does not meet the requirements
According to tender specifications, the required coal must be of 4,400-5,000 kcal/kg net calorific value with a stringent specification for ash (13%), sulfur (0.8%),moisture (30%), and size (5mm-30mm). The rejected 11th shipment, for which the supplier had quoted a value of 4,821 kcal/kg, was riddled with high foreign material content and failed against many requirements.
“We think the supplier’s calorific value statement is preposterous,” said Matarbari power plant’s Chief Engineer Saifur Rahman. “We are pending a laboratory test to establish next step.”
Power division sets tighter quality tests
Secretary of the Power Division Farzana Mamtaz revealed that some of these new controls -such as inspection on the premises at the unloading terminal and the checking of the origin of the coal at the Indonesian mine- were not included within the contract to begin with. The decision will then depend on the results of the laboratory tests being assessed.
Energy Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan confirmed the formation of the joint committee and explained that the final decision on the incumbent supplier was subject to the findings of the committee.
Experts advise against using low-grade coal
These were expressed by experts from the power sector as well. BUET’s Professor Dr. M Tamim said using low-grade coal is tantamount to a huge threat to the power plant. “We know how poor-grade coal destroyed the Barapukuria power plant boiler. Matarbari must maintain a strict control of the quality of the coal to prevent this catastrophe,” he said.
Power Plant Reliability at Risk With one single supplier for the plant, shareholders fear that the low-grade coal’s long-term availability will jeopardize the operational stability of the plant. The new bidding is meant to acquire a more stable conforming supplier to secure the power plant’s future.
