China to generate 42 megawatts of electricity from Aminbazar waste

An initiative has been taken to generate electricity by utilizing the waste accumulated at Dhaka's Aminbazar landfill. A Chinese company is working on the implementation of this project. Once the project is launched, about 42 megawatts of electricity will be supplied to the national grid by processing a huge amount of waste every day. The goal has been set to start generating electricity within the next 18 months.

On Thursday (August 27), Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen met with Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Dr. Abdul Moin Khan at the Secretariat. During this time, various development cooperation between China and Bangladesh, including the Aminbazar waste-to-power generation project, were discussed.

After the meeting, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam told reporters that within the next one and a half years, the Chinese company will generate electricity from Aminbazar waste and supply it to the national grid.

42 MW of electricity will go to the national grid

The proposed project will generate electricity using municipal waste accumulated in the Aminbazar landfill. Earlier, the government had informed that the project plans to process about 3,000 tons of waste per day and generate 42.5 MW of electricity. The generated electricity will be supplied to the national grid.

According to the government's plan, if the project is launched, it will not only generate electricity, but also play an important role in waste management in the capital. An opportunity will be created to reduce pressure on the environment by converting waste into resources.

Tripartite agreement in September

State Minister Mir Shahe Alam said that the formal tripartite agreement for the project is scheduled to be signed in Beijing, China on September 2. The parties concerned have already reached an agreement on the project.

Later, the final financing agreement will be concluded between the investment bank, the relevant company and the Bangladeshi parties.

Earlier, in a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister in July, the waste-to-energy projects in Aminbazar and Matuail were discussed. It was announced in that meeting that China's China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) group would invest in the Aminbazar project. It was announced that the project would have the capacity to generate electricity for about 25 years.

New prospects in waste management

A large amount of waste is generated every day in a densely populated city like Dhaka. A large part of this waste is deposited in landfills, which creates pressure on the environment and public health. If the waste-to-power generation project is implemented, on the one hand, it will create an opportunity to reduce the amount of waste deposited in landfills, and on the other hand, it will be possible to generate electricity from alternative sources.

China has shown interest in investing not only in waste-to-power generation in Bangladesh, but also in solar power and other renewable energy projects. Various Chinese institutions and banks have expressed interest in cooperating in these sectors.

Discussions on Chittagong and Mongla ports also

The secretariat meeting also discussed other infrastructure developments in Bangladesh. In particular, the issue of China's interest in the development projects of the Chittagong Economic Zone and Mongla Port came up.

In addition to the development of Mongla Port, discussions were also held on further enhancing the communication and connectivity of Chittagong Port with it. This has the potential to further strengthen the country's commercial infrastructure and communication system.

In addition, the two sides also exchanged views on further strengthening the political relations between Bangladesh and China. The State Minister said that interest was also expressed in increasing mutual visits and communication between the political parties of the two countries.

Aim to supply electricity by 2028

According to the government's previous plan, this waste-to-power project in Aminbazar can start supplying electricity to the national grid by August 2028. If the project is implemented, it will be considered an important addition in both the waste management and power generation of the capital.

If this initiative to generate electricity by bringing waste management under modern technology is successful, there may be opportunities to implement similar projects in other big cities of the country in the future.