Bangladesh launches tenders for 77.6 MW of solar

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has issued tenders for three solar power plants in the districts of Chittagong, Rangamati, and Dinajpur, with a combined capacity of 77.6 MW.

The projects include a 50 MW plant in Chittagong, a 7.6 MW installation in Rangamati, and a 20 MW facility to be built on land at a coal field in Dinajpur.

BPDB has invited international developers to develop the projects using its own funds and foreign currency resources from the Power Sector Development Fund.

All three grid-connected solar photovoltaic plants will be developed on a turnkey basis. Selected bidders will be responsible for design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning.

Afroza Sultana, BPDB secretary, said the 20 MW plant will be located at the Barapukuria coal-fired thermal power plant site. The government aims to complete the project within one year.

The 7.6 MW facility will be installed at the Karnafuli Hydropower Station in Rangamati, also with a targeted completion timeline of one year after contract award.

The 50 MW plant will be developed in Rangunia subdistrict of Chittagong, with completion expected within 18 months of contract award, according to the tender documents.

Bidders are required to submit a tender security in the form of an irrevocable and unconditional bank guarantee issued by a scheduled bank in Bangladesh, or by a foreign bank endorsed by a scheduled Bangladeshi bank, in favor of the BPDB secretary.

Mostafa Al Mahmud, president of the Bangladesh Sustainable and Renewable Energy Association (BSREA), welcomed the government’s initiative to expand solar deployment and increase the share of renewables in the energy mix.

“The government needs to facilitate the installation of more solar power plants to reduce dependence on fossil fuel-based generation, which has become increasingly expensive,” he told pv magazine. “Providing appropriate incentives and reducing the tax burden on the solar sector will help ease the country’s energy crisis,” he added.

Under its Renewable Energy Policy 2025, the government of Bangladesh has set a target to install 10 GW of solar capacity by 2030. To support this goal, the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA) is preparing a national renewable energy roadmap.

Bangladesh currently has approximately 1.73 GW of renewable energy capacity, of which around 1.44 GW comes from solar.