MOU inked to develop onshore LNG regas terminal in Bangladesh

As part of the agreement, ACWA Power will develop 3,600-MW gas-fired independent power plants representing an investment of US$2.5Bn, helping to meet the country’s growing power demand.

Driven by exports of agricultural products, textiles, seafood and clothing manufacture, Bangladesh’s economy is booming. As one of the world’s fastest growing economies, Bangladesh had a 7.3% GDP during Q1 2019, according to the International Monetary Fund. It had a GDP of 7.9% in 2018.

Besides the gas-fired power plants, ACWA Power will also develop an onshore regasification terminal with an additional investment of US$500M. The plant will potentially be located in Maheshkhali upon completion of the feasibility study.

BPDP chairman engineer Khaled Mahmood and ACWA Power chairman Mohammed Abunayyan signed the agreement for the Natural Gas/R-LNG Based Combined Cycle Power Plant, one of the largest deals for Bangladesh’s power sector.

It is ACWA Power’s largest gas-to-power development and its initial foray into the Bangladesh power market.

Bangladesh’s power sector is one of the fastest growing in south Asia, with a current installed capacity of around 24,000 MW electricity from 3,200 MW in 2009.

In April, Bangladesh commissioned its second LNG import terminal using the floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) Summit LNG, doubling the country’s LNG import capacity by 3.75 mta to 7.5 mta. Summit Power International has chartered the FSRU from US-based Excelerate Energy for 15 years.