India ships first consignment of coal to Bangladesh for Rampal Power Plant

India has shipped the first consignment of about 4,000 tonnes of coal to Bangladesh for Rampal Power Plant in Khulna.

The consignment left the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port or SMP of Kolkata for Bangladesh on Friday, The Hindu Business Line reported.

Sourced from Dhanbad, the coal is expected to be unloaded at Kidderpore Dock and dispatched to the captive jetty of the power plant, set up by Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company Ltd. It is a joint venture between India's NTPC and Bangladesh Power Development Board.

The exporter of coal is Godavari Commodities and it is handled end to end by ZS logistics, the company said in a statement

It expects 20,000 tonnes of Indian coal to be sourced from SMP Kolkata to Bangladesh every month.

The Bangladesh government has recently cancelled 10 planned coal-based power plants after taking their environmental impact into consideration.

The power plants were part of the 2010-2011 electricity masterplan but were not implemented in time. There was a discussion about scrapping the projects at the time.

In addition, Bangladesh’s signing of the Paris Agreement and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s role as the chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum have made it “essential for us to generate electricity through more environmentally friendly means”, said State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid Bipu.

Since 2008, Bangladesh had approved the construction of 18 coal-based power plants, including the 10 scrapped now.