Originally published in The Daily Star on 03 August 2023
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday inaugurated a 200-megawatt (MW) solar power plant, the highest renewable resource-focused power generation capacity of a single facility in the country, built by Beximco Power Ltd.
Some $300 million was invested to set up the plant, named Teesta Solar Ltd, on 650 acres of a landmass formed through sedimentation in Sundarganj upazila of the northwestern district of Gaibandha, said a press statement.
The plant is expected to provide 200MW of electricity to the national grid daily, said the statement issued by Public Relations Officer Shafiqul Islam of the office of the adviser to the prime minister on private industries and investment.
The prime minister inaugurated the plant, which started trial operations from December last year, from a gathering on Rangpur Zilla School premises.
“We think this renewable energy sector will be very important for the future,” said Shayan F Rahman, chairman of Beximco Power Limited.
He further said they launched the first sukuk bond of the private sector in the country to finance this project.
A sukuk is an Islamic financial certificate, similar to a treasury bond and structured to generate returns in compliance with Islamic finance principles.
“In the future we are thinking of setting up more solar power plants as per government plans,” he noted.