The proposed annual development programme for fiscal 2012-13 does not include any new project for setting up new power plants in the public sector to ensure funds for the on-going projects, officials said.
Similarly, no new major project has been taken in oil and gas exploration or any capacity building programmes in fuel-oil refining, storage and transportation while the old projects would be continued.
The proposed ADP allocation for power and energy sector, however, is 15.22 per cent higher than the funds allocated for the out-going fiscal year.
The Finance Division has proposed to allocate Tk 9524.67 crore in annual development programmes for the coming fiscal in the power and energy sectors, giving the highest priority to power generation with a proposed allocation of Tk 7,911.26 crore.
The government had allocated Tk 7,152.63 crore for power sector for FY 2011-12, but in the revised ADP it was cut short to Tk 6548.09. Similarly, the ADP allocation for energy sector was also cut short to Tk 569.19 crore from Tk 1,114 crore in the revised budget.
The proposed ADP budget for power sector for coming fiscal includes 48 projects including 15 projects of installation of new power plants and capacity improvement through conversion and rehabilitation of old plants.
The Power Development Board would start implementing three fresh projects which had been taken up in the last fiscal year or earlier.
The projects are a 5MW solar photovoltaic grid connected power plant at Kaptai in Chittagong worth Tk 192.32 crore, an off-grid wind-solar hybrid system with fuel-oil run electricity generator at Hatya island in Bhola worth Tk 131.39 crore and conversion of a 150MW peaker to a 225MW combined cycle power plant in Sirajganj worth Tk 678.90 crore.
In the fiscal 2012-13, the Power Division will have to carry over nine projects including four major power plant installation projects which were supposed to be completed within the out-going fiscal year.
The pending power plant installation projects are Balancing, Modernisation, Rehabilitation and Expansion of two units of PDB Ghorashal Thermal Power Plant, installation of two 150MW combined cycle power plants and associated transmission system in Chandpur and Sylhet and a 150MW peaker plant at Ghorashal in Narshingdi and North West Power Generation Company’s installation of a 150MW gas turbine power plant in Sirajganj.
Other major power plant installation projects are : a 150MW peaker in Khulna initiated in July 2007, a 360MW power plant at Bheramara in Kushtia initiated in July 2010, a 360MW power plant and associated sub-station at Haripur in Sylhet initiated in July 2007, a 335MW power plant at Siddhirganj in Narsingdi initiated in January 2009 and a 450MW power plant at Ashuganj in Narsingdi initiated in December 2011.
In the coming ADP, fund allocation has been proposed for installation of three grid lines by Power Grid Company of Bangladesh. The three grid lines were earlier supposed to be completed within the out-going fiscal year.
The proposed ADP also includes Power Development Board’s eight on-going projects including electricity distribution network expansion and improvement, prepaid electric metre distribution, solar street lighting programmes in city corporations and electricity distribution system development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Rural Electrification Board’s 10 running projects including free Compact Fluorescent Lamp distribution, rural electrification ugradation project for Rajshahi, Rangpur, Khulna and Barisal divisions and rural electrification expansion programmes in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Khulna and Barisal, expansion of solar irrigation pump and solar home system and to electrify 1.8 million new consumers have been included in the proposed ADP for the fiscal year 2012-13.
It has also included four projects on increasing and upgrading electricity distribution system of Dhaka Power Distribution Company and Dhaka Electric Company.
Similar to the power sector projects, Petrobangla will have to carry over three drilling projects for oil and gas exploration and production in different gas fields and two gas transmission pipeline installation projects which were supposed to be completed by June this year.
Petrobangla, the state-run Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources Corporation, planned to implement 11 projects out of 20 on-going projects in the coming fiscal under the proposed ADP.
Among other projects, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation will implement three out of four on-going projects in the fiscal year 2012-13 under the new ADP.