M2K TECHNOLOGY & TRADING CO., BANGLADESH.

M2K TECHNOLOGY & TRADING CO. PTE LTD., SINGAPORE.

WE REPRESENT:

Phenix Technologies Inc., USA. Phenix Systems AG, Switzerland. www.phenixtech.com & www.phenixsystems.com

Doble Engineering Company., USA. www.doble.com

Vanguard Instruments Company Inc., USA. www.vanguard�instruments.com

Manta Test Systems Inc., USA. www.mantatest.com

Morgan Schaffer, Canada. www.morganschaffer.com Globecore GmbH, Germany. www.globecore.de

Larsen & Toubro Limited, India. www.lntebg.com

Powerchina Nuclear Engineering Company Limited, P.R. China. www.powerchina�ne.com

SINGAPORE:

Block 428, Clement i Avenue 3 # 10�430, Singapore�120428.Tel:+65�8299�8715 E�mail: info@m2kttc.com Website: www.m2kttc.com

BANGLADESH: Amin Court Building (2nd floor), 62�63 Motijheel Commercial Area, Dhaka �1000, Bangladesh.Tel :+880�2�5716�0955 Fax : +880�2�5716�0966 E�mail : m2kttc@gmail.com

Bangladesh is currently developing some mega infrastructure projects, includingpower plants, and some others are in the planning stage. Almost all the constrction works are being performed by the foreign contractors who are implementingthe projects mainly with imported manpower and materials, of course, under thepurview of the contracts. However, local contractors claim that many of themhave the capability to do at least some of the projects by utilizing the localresources — manpower and materials. And, they have also the ability tocontribute a lot through subcontracting some projects which they cannot handlealone due to lack of expertise. But, they are not being able to utilize the localexpertise and resources due to lack of appropriate policy supports. Othercountries like India and China are protecting their construction companies withnecessary policy as well as fiscal and financial supports.

The government should consider the issues seriously to ensure optimumutilization of the local resources whatever we have. It would help retain thescarce resources within the country and its reinvestment will certainly helpaccelerate the country’s development.

Fortnightly Magazine, Vol 18, Issue 12, December 1-15

17 9

EditorMollah M Amzad Hossain

Advisory EditorAnwarul Islam TarekMortuza Ahmad FaruqueSaiful Amin

International EditorDr. Nafis Ahmed

Contributing EditorsSaleque Sufi

Online EditorGSM Shamsuzzoha (Nasim)

Managing EditorAfroza Hossain

Deputy EditorSyed Mansur Hashim

ReportersArunima Hossain

Assistant Online EditorAditya Hossain

Design & GraphicsMd. Monirul Islam

PhotographyBulbul AhmedProductionMufazzal Hossain Joy

Computer GraphicsMd. Uzzal Hossain

Circulation AssistantKhokan Chandra Das

Editorial, News & CommercialRoom 509, Eastern Trade Center56 Inner Circular Road (VIP Road)Naya Paltan. GPO Box : 677Dhaka-1000, BangladeshTel & Fax : 88-02-58314532Email: ep@dhaka.netenergypower@gmail.comWebsite: www.ep-bd.com

PriceBangladesh: Tk 50, SAARC: US$ 6,Asia: US$ 8, Europe: US$ 10, NorthAmerica, Africa & Australia: US$ 14

Bangladesh has some 30-40 largeconstruction companies that canlead and deliver mega projects ofany size and complexity. But theyget hardly any domestic preferencein obtaining contracts due to policylimitations. Domestic preferencemeans the local bidders will get 7-7.5 percent price preference overthe foreign ones. It might sound un-realistic, but it is neither unrealisticnor unethical... Golam Moham-mad Alomgir tells EP

Experts criticized the government’sdecision on importing lubricatingoil despite already having enoughcapacity to meet the local demandfor the petroleum product. Theyalso came up heavily on the unholypractice by a section of the tradersfor supplying adulterated lubricantin the local markets which is caus-ing irreparable damages to trans-ports and industrial machinery…for more on Special Report

Ensuring participation of local contractorsand optimum utilization of local resources inthe mega infrastructure projects isessential.Otherwise,the country will face shortage ofskilled manpower for smooth maintenanceand operation of these infrastructure in thelong run. Local companies should be in-cluded in the projects as development part-ners instead of recruiting local agents for thegreater national interest.

40

Encouraged by the readers and patrons, the EP would continue bringingout Green Pages to contribute to the country’s efforts in its journeytowards environment-friendly energy.

5 WORLD WATCHLatest Development in World

6 SNAPSHOTLatest Development

9 COVERAuspicious Rooftops

15 ARTICLEDiabolic Performance of BHEL Prolongs Rampal Power Project

17 SPECIAL REPORTLube Oil Import to beSelf­destructive

19 WORLDNot America FirstBut Planet First

22 SPECIAL ARTICLEThe Energy Balance andAssessments for EnergyPolicies, Strategies, and Roadmaps: The MissingElements of Ground Realities

24 SDGsClimate Vulnerability, Covid and SDG Implementation

27 REPORTAccess to Power for All within December: Nasrul

28 Energypac Floats IPO on Dec 7 to Raise Tk 150cr

29 Work on 5 Power PlantsProgressing Fast at Matarbari

30 Wärtsilä to Deliver 30MW Power Plant for PakistaniCement Producer

31 Aziz Khan Recognized as Asia’s Outstanding Leader

36 CLIMATEAir Pollution in Dhaka Very Alarming: HC

37 ‘Saving Environment isOur Key Goal’

39 IDCOL Gets $250m Loan from GCF

40 INTERVIEWEngr. Ghulam Mohammed Alomgir

Chairman, MAX GROUP

33 Govt to Introduce Green Factory Award

34 Chinese Company to Set Up Waste­Based Power Plant in Dhaka

35 RE Key to Achieve ASEAN Aspirational Sustainability Roadmap by 2025:GlobalData

35 Hydrogen Station Network to Grow by Nearly 25% in Southern California

5

Worldwatch

December 1, 2020

German industrial giantSiemens recently re-ported full-year earningsdown by a quarter as the

coronavirus pandemic hit the economy but it was positive on areturn to global growth in 2021.

Net profit for the 12 months to September was 4.2 billion euros($4.9 billion), down 25 per cent compared with 5.6 billion eurosin 2019, on the back of "demand declines" due to the healthcrisis, Siemens said.

The Munich-based company, which makes products rangingfrom trains to factory equipment, said group revenue was fairlystable, falling just 2.0 to 57.1 billion euros.

At the end of September, Siemens spun off its Energy division,which includes oil-and-gas operations, and last month soldcomponents subsidiary Flender to US-based Carlyle for 2.0 bil-lion euros.

For its fourth quarter alone, Siemens' net profit jumped 28 percent year-on-year to 1.9 billion euros, beating expectations, withthe Energy sale contributing some 900 million billion euros.

The company "delivered a strong finish to a remarkable year",outgoing chief executive Joe Kaeser said.

Siemens is slimming down, spinning off assets to refocus as atechnology company.

Siemens Profit Falls,Upbeat on Outlook

China's unofficialban on coal importsfrom Australia isstarting to take its

toll on volumes, with departing cargoes down sharply so far inNovember. But something odd is happening with prices.

China imports two main types of coal from Australia, coking coalused to make steel and thermal coal, used predominantly to gen-erate power, but which can also be used in industrial processessuch as cement and ceramics.

As you may expect, the lower Chinese demand for coking coalhas hit prices, with Singapore Exchange futures SCAFc1, whichmirror free-on-board Australian prices, dropping to a four-yearlow of $104.86 a tonne recently.

This is down 25.1per cent from the recent peak of $140 a tonneon Oct. 5, hit just beforereports started emerging ofChinese officials giving un-official verbal instructionsto traders and steel mills tohalt purchases of Aus-tralian coal.

Australian Coal Exportsto China Slump

Russian PresidentVladimir Putin recentlynamed Nikolai Shulgi-nov, head of the hy-

droelectricity giant RusHydro, as the new energy minister of themajor oil-exporting nation.

Shulginov, 69, replaces Alexander Novak.

However, Novak was pro-moted to deputy primeminister overseeing theenergy sector and he willcontinue to be responsiblefor the relationship withOPEC.

Russia Appoints NewEnergy Minister

Russian oil and gas condensate output rose to 9.98 million bar-rels per day (bpd) in October from 9.93 million bpd in Septem-ber, according to a report that cited Energy Ministry's datarecently.

In tonnage for the month, oil and gas condensate productionstood at 42.19 million tonnes for October, in comparison with40.65 million tonnes in September.

Natural gas production at Russian gas giant Gazprom rose forthe first time this year in October, to 42.7 billion cubic metres(bcm), from 41.9 bcm a year earlier.

OPEC oil output has also risen, for a fourth month in October,as a restart of more Libyan installations and higher Iraqi exportsoffset full adherence by other members to a supply cut deal.

OPEC+ made a record cut of 9.7 million bpd, or 10% of globaloutput, from May as the pandemic destroyed demand. SinceAugust, the group has been pumping more as the cut tapereddown to 7.7 million bpd, of which OPEC's share is 4.868 mil-lion bpd.

Russian Oil, Gas Condensate Outputup in October: Interfax

OPEC has reviseddown its forecastsfor global crudeoil demand this

year and next due to the economic disruption caused by thecoronavirus pandemic, its monthly report said recently.

In its latest estimates, OPEC expects global demand for crudeoil to decline by 9.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2020, com-pared with its previous forecast for a drop of 9.5 million.

Overall demand was tipped to come in slightly above 90 millionbpd, the report said.

Fuel for transportation and industry was likely to remain affectedin the fourth quarter of the year, it explained.

OPEC Forecasts WeakerOil Demand in 2020-21

For 2021, OPEC expects quite a sharp rebound of 6.2 millionbpd but this represents a cut of 300,000 bpd on its previous es-timate, putting global demand at 96.3 million bpd.

In October, output by OPEC members increased by 322,000bpd from the level in September, according to the report, withLibya, and to a lesser extent Iraq, accounting for most of the in-crease.

6

Snapshot

December 1, 2020

Ranks PetroleumLimited, macrodistributor of lu-bricant supplierShell, haslaunched twonew fully syn-thetic engineoils inBangladesh forthe two-wheeler

segment, said a press release issued by the company.

The two fully synthetic motor oils – Shell Advance Long Ride10w-40 and Shell Advance Fuel Save 10w-30 – were un-veiled recently at Le Meridien in Dhaka.

Shell Advance Long Ride 10w-40 is expertly engineered toprotect motorcycle engines on up to 6,000 kilometers andShell Advance Fuel Save 10w-30 is engineered to get an extra5 km a liter of fuel.

Both products come in a liter pack for just Tk 750 which isunique for the Bangladeshi MCO market, said the release.

The program was inaugurated by Rancon Holdings Limiteddivisional director (lubricant & technology) Imran ZamanKhan along with Ranks Petroleum Limited chief executive of-ficer Sardar MD Khaled Bin Hasan and Rancon Holdings di-visional marketing head (lubricant and technology) RezwanNawsher.

Ranks Petroleum Unveils2 Shell Engine Oils

The Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited (KGDCL)is continuing drive for checking gas connections in the port-city as per directives of the ministry concerned.

Its first phase of drive for monitoring gas supply in Chattogramended on November 6. Later, KGDCL continues the vigilanceactivities following the ministry's directives.

Meanwhile, KGDCL teams inspected a total of 10,100 gasconnections in the first phase of drive from September 6 toNovember 6. Of these, 9,400 were residential gas lines, 500were commercial lines, 110 were industrial lines, and 19 wereCNG stations.

The teams cut a total of 2,000 illegal lines, and also collecteda total of Tk 260 million due bills.

KGDCL started the drive in January for monitoring gas supply.But, after corona outbreak, it was suspended. Later, the gassupply monitoring started again in September 6, and contin-ued until November 6. KGDCL is continuing the vigilanceuntil now as per directives of the ministry.

KGDCL Con�nuing Drive AgainstIllegal Gas Connec�ons

State Minis-ter forPower, En-ergy and

Mineral ResourcesNasrul Hamid hassaid Dhaka city’soverhead cableswill be replacedwith undergroundcables within thenext four years.

“Work to replace the overhead cables with underground cableis underway in Dhanmondi area. Transparency and account-ability in the sector will be further strengthened by integratingmodern technology including smart grid, smart meter inpower and energy management,” he said at the inaugurationceremony of 5 Kilowatt Vertical Wind Turbine ‘Anubha’ re-cently, said a press release.

The ceremony was organized by Bangladesh University ofProfessionals at Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP)on its Campus.

“Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has undertaken a 45MW power generation project from waste. In Narayanganj,the proposal to purchase 6 MW electricity power generatedfrom wastes is in the process of being sent to the CabinetCommittee on Public Procurement,” the state minister said.

Dhaka to be Overhead-CableFree by 2024: Nasrul

ManagingD i r e c t o r(MD) ofTitas Gas

Distribution Com-pany Limited Engr.Ali Md. Al Mamunhas been made Di-rector (Operationsand Mines) ofPetrobangla as partof an internal

reshuffle among the Petrobangla companies.

He replaces Engr. Md. Kamruzzaman, who is going on PRL(post-retirement leave) from 30 November 2020, accordingto an order issued by the Energy and Mineral Resources Divi-sion on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Managing Director of Sylhet Gas Fields LimitedEngr. Ali Iqbal Md. Nurullah has been appointed as the MDof Titas Gas while Petrobangla General Manager Jahirul Islamhas been made MD of Sylhet Gas Fields.

At the same time, Petrobangla General Manager ProvonjonBiswas has been made MD of Karnaphuli Gas DistributionCompany Limited as its existing MD Khaez Majumder wenton PRL.

Mamun Made PetrobanglaDirector, Nurullah Titas MD

Ali Md. Al Mamun Ali Iqbal Md. Nurullah

8

Snapshot

December 1, 2020

The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (Amendment)Bill, 2020 was passed in Parliament recently to empower theBERC to make any change in tariff more than one time per fi-nancial year.

The existing law permits BERC to make any change in tariffonce in per financial year.State minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources NasrulHamid moved the Bill in the House and it was passed byvoice vote.

The Bill said that prices of energy changes in the internationalmarket continuously and the government needs to adjust theprices in the local market accordingly. And that's why theamendment was proposed.

BERC Can Change Power TariffMore Than Once a Year

Four market-leading products including liquefied petroleumgas products of Bashundhara Group have been awarded thetitle of ‘Superbrands’, the first of its kind for any industrial con-glomerates in the country.

The prestigious title was given to Bashundhara LPG, Bashund-hara Diapant, Basundhara Paper and Bashundhara Tissue ata grand virtual award ceremony organized by Uk-based Su-perbrands recently.

Superbrands is a global media communications and publish-ing business with a presence in 89 countries.

Prime Minister’s Advisor Salman F Rahman was the chiefguest while Superbrands Bangladesh Managing Director Shar-iful Islam made the address of welcome on the occasion.

Bashundhara Wins Four SuperbrandsAwards for LPG

Summit Power, thelargest private sec-tor power genera-tor, saw its profit fall

16.7 per cent between July and September, in what can beviewed as a sign of spotty economic recovery following thelifting of countrywide shutdown from May 30.

During the quarter, the company’s profit stood at Tk 211 croreand its sales Tk 1,231 crore, it said recently.

“There is no special reason behind the decline in profit growth,”said Swapon Kumar Pal, company secretary of Summit Power.

Shares of Summit Power, which was listed in 2005, closed atTk 40 on Thursday, up 1 per cent from the previous day.

Summit Power’s ProfitDown 16.7% in Jul-Sep

Three members of a same fam-ily were electrocuted at BharkulKuti village under Dhopadangaunion of Sundarganj upazila inthe district recently.

Family sources said, Razaul Mia, son of Syed Ali of the village,went to a paddy field adjacent to his village home at 7 PMand came in touch with a live wire of Northern Electricity Sup-ply Company Limited (NESCO-1).

Hearing the scream, his mother Rekha Begum, 56 and hernephew Sujon Mia, 13 who came forward to save him werealso electrocuted when they touched him.

Rekha and Sujon died on the spot.

Later, family members sent Razaul Mia to Gaibandha SadarHospital where attending doctor declared him dead.

Three of a FamilyElectrocuted inSundarganj

Two people, in-cluding a balloonvendor, were killedand at least 10 oth-

ers injured in a gas cylinder explosion near the venue of aWaz Mehfil in Bhola's Borhanuddin upazila recently.

The dead are Mohammad Nirab, 23, a balloon vendor fromBhola Sadar upazila, and Mohammad Hasnain, 18, of Bara-manika ward no-6.

Witnesses said the explosion took place when Nirab was fill-ing a balloon with gas to sell those to children near the WazMehfil venue in Baramanika union of the upazila.

Hanif Mia of Boromanika unon said they heard a big bangand found some men lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

The explosion also caused damages to some makeshift shopsin the area, said another witness.

The blast left Nirab and Hasnain dead on the spot.

2 killed, 10 Injured inGas Cylinder Explosion

The 10th EGM ofBaraka Power Lim-ited was held atSubidbazar, Sylhetrecently.

The Agenda of theEGM is to authorizeBaraka PatengaPower Limited (asubsidiary ofBaraka Power Lim-ited) to float pri-

mary shares through Initial Public Offering (IPO).

In the welcome speech, Chairman of the company, Mr. FaisalAhmed Chowdhury has briefed the financial performance ofBaraka Patenga Power Limited.

He also explained the financial impact of Baraka Power Limitedif its subsidiary company listed in the capital market. sharehold-ers also expressed their views and showed positive remark re-garding IPO process of Baraka Patenga Power Limited.

Mr. Fahim Ahmed Chowdhury, Managing Director of thecompany in his closing speech expressed the gratitude to allof the shareholders for their spontaneous presence and sup-port regarding the agenda of the EGM.

Baraka Patenga Powerto Float IPO

9

Cover

December 1, 2020

Necessary policy support and effective real time reg-ulatory monitoring are essential for ensuring partic-ipation of competent local contractors and

optimum utilization of local construction materials andother resources like human resource in the mega infra-structure development projects of Bangladesh. Otherwise,the country will face shortage of skilled manpower forsmooth maintenance and operation of these infrastructurein the long run. Local companies should be included inthe projects as development partners instead of recruitinglocal agents for the greater national interest.

Experts, government officials and localentrepreneurs came up with the sugges-tions in a virtual seminar titled“Prospects and Challenges of Utilizationof Local Resources in Infrastructure De-velopment”, organized by Energy &Power magazine on 14 November2020. Mollah Amzad Hossain, Editor ofEP, moderated the discussion.

They also suggested rationalization ofduties and taxes applicable for the for-eign and local contractors as only theforeign contractors enjoy the duty-freeadvantage in importing project materi-als. As a result, the local contractorscannot stay in competitions after paying35% duty. If necessary, the 35% dutyapplicable for the local contractors incases of international tenders could bereimbursed to them. The policy reformsare essential for ensuring sustainable de-velopment, the experts viewed.

Prof Dr M Tamim, former special assis-tant to the chief advisor of the last care-taker government observed that theabsence of enabling policies is a stum-bling block for the growth of local en-trepreneurs. Policies are essential forprotecting national interest. Some con-ditions are given in the agreement forthe foreign contractors. The project im-plementation agencies do not reli-giously monitor whether these areobliged at all. Ultimately these do notserve the purpose. Both parties have theresponsibilities of developing compe-

tent human resources locally. Joint ven-ture agreements with specific provisionsfor integration of local manpower mayhelp the cause. The skill level of localmanpower will grow if they can workalongside of the foreign experts. Thesewill enable efficient operation and

maintenance of the infrastructure even-tually. Bangladesh may also exportskilled manpower to foreign countries inthe long run.

Sheikh Faezul Amin, Additional Secre-tary of Power Division, mentioned thatthey are working on ensuring maximumparticipation of local manpower andutilization of local resources. We arealert about protecting the interests oflocal companies. Indian Exim Bank hasfinanced the Rampal power project.They attached some covenants. Onesuch was importing and utilizing 75%of the project materials of the projectfrom India and the rest 25% from anyother country. There could have beencomplications in financial closure of theproject if these covenants were not ac-cepted. In future, we have to explorehow these conditions can be further re-laxed and rationalized for better protect-ing the country’s interest.

For Rooppur project, the Russian con-tractor wanted 70:30 ratio of foreignand local materials. We insisted to re-verse it. Good infrastructure creates thebackbone of a nation. We are giving pri-ority attention to this. The government

is caring for communication and energyinfrastructure complementing eachother.

Engr. Golam Mohammad Alomgir,Chairman Max Group, pointed out that15% domestic preference is indeedgiven to local contractors. But 35% du-ties and taxes imposed for importing65% project materials are not taken intoaccount. Foreign contractors enjoyduty-free import facility. The govern-ment loses and we are deprived. Theduty imposed can be reimbursed for thesake of creating level playground. Oth-erwise, local contractors cannot survive.

He said that the local contractors are notunited. They are struggling in isolationand suffering from the absence of en-abling government policies for protect-ing the local companies. India for last30 years did not allow foreign compa-nies. The projects being implementedwith local fund must be exclusively pre-

11December 1, 2020

Professor M. Tamim

Gas pipeline construction work by Dipon Gas Photo: Dipon

served for the local contractors. Earningadditional revenues at the cost of localcompanies cannot be the right policy.How many areas of development thePrime Minister alone would give atten-tion to, he questioned? She has initiatedmega projects, but others in the respon-sible positions must take pragmaticmeasures.

He said that all out initiatives must betaken for rapid industrialization of thecountry through import substitutionstrategy, effective utilization of powergeneration and creation of jobs. For thatthe government must act to protect localcompanies. Otherwise, foreign contrac-tors would squeeze us out completely.The government can also create fundlike green climate fund for skill devel-opment of own human resources. Localcompanies can be provided with softterm loans from there.

Engr. Rabiul Alam, Chairman of Energy-pac Power Generation Company Lim-ited, pointed out that the policies ofBangladesh are different from what wehave seen in India. In case of single-en-velope bidding process of BangladeshPower Development Board (BPDB), theprice has to be quoted addng 35% dutyin our quotations. In the two-envelopebidding, the condition is different. Weare treated as aliens in own country.There must be consistencies in policy.We work in Nepal where taking a localpartner is mandatory. Why Bangladesh

cannot dothat, hequestioned.

We will payduty whileforeign con-tractors willbe ex-e m p t e d .Such irra-t i o n a l i t i e smust not co-exist. ThePower GridCompany ofBangladesh(PGCB) isusing ad-vanced for-mula. Nocondi t ionsare being at-tached in case of government-fundedprojects. Whereas, Bangladesh RuralElectrification Board (BREB) requiresduty paid evaluation in case of localcurrency use. This also happens evenwhen there is no foreign contractor. Ifsuch inconsistency and disparity exists,local contractors cannot survive. Forprotecting local contractors like in othercountries, a provision for taking localpartner should be made mandatory. Wecannot add value with local labor untilenabling rational policies are intro-duced.

If local contractors import materials, noduty needs to be paid. But in case ofusing local materials, VAT and taxes areimposed. How can local contractorssurvive? We sell transformers in Indiabut cannot participate in local tendersthere. BPDB floats international tendereven for small works under own financ-ing. Such system does not exist any-where in the world. If the governmentcould introduce policies similar to otherdeveloping countries by now, localcompanies could grow to the level ofEPC contractor for 1,320 MW powerplants. Cost escalates when foreign con-tractors delay implementation of megaprojects like Padma MultipurposeBridge, but in our cases, we have to paypenalties. Contractors must be ex-empted from Liquidity damage andother penalties for Covid-19 pandemic,Mr. Rabiul suggested.Shah Abdul Mawla Helal, Project Direc-tor of Payra 1,320 MW Coal PowerProject, agreed that they had to chooseChinese company as lead partner as theUltra Super Critical Technology wasused for the first time in Bangladesh.The project implemented under G2GECA financing left little window for proj-ect management to engage local man-power and utilize local resources.Skilled, semi-skilled manpower andconsultants came from abroad. More-

12December 1, 2020

Nasim Shamsuzoha Engr. Riaz Ahmed JaberShah Abdul Mawla Helal

Golam Mohammad Alomgir Engr. Rabiul AlamSheikh Faezul Amin

River training work under the Rooppur NPP by Max Group Photo: Max Group

over, there was a challenge for imple-mentation of the project on time. Wetried our best, but we still could not de-velop competent local company. How-ever, at peak time of projectimplementation, 8,000 local manpowerworked alongside 3,200 Chinese work-ers. Almost 100% local rods and ce-ments were used, but the steel structureswere imported. We attached a conditionthat duty-free advantage would not begiven if contractor choose to import ma-terials locally available.

Nasim Shamsuzoha, Director (BusinessDevelopment) of Dipon Group, present-ing the Keynote paper stressed on thereality that utilization of local resourceswould make development sustainable.This strategy facilitates import substitu-tion, saves foreign exchange, creates fu-ture opportunities, enhances localknowledge and expertise and finally, allthese would create path for the sustain-able development.

We have international standard rein-forced steel, cement, and skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled human resources.The cheapest hard-working labor forcesare available in Bangladesh. About4,000 companies are working inBangladesh, of which at least 100 haveskills and competence for working inforeign countries, Mr. Shamsuzzohaadded.

However, we have seen that foreignsubcontractors were engaged at Payraand Rampal power projects. Authoritiesconcerned in Bangladesh appointed for-eign EPC contractors becauseBangladesh does not have technologyand experience to implement largeUltra-Critical or Super-Critical ThermalPower Projects. We hoped that the EPCcontractor would appoint local subcon-tractor in case of all possible packages.But both the foreign EPC contractors ofPayra and Rampal engaged foreign sub-contractors for all possible cases.Though the projects are in Bangladesh,selection of subcontractors took place inChina and India. Thus, the local con-tractors lost their opportunities.

Bharat Heavy Electric Limited (BHEL) inthe bidding for subcontractor held atKolkata, India included some surprising

conditions for selection of subcontrac-tors. For participation of e-tendering, acompany required procuring e-signa-ture, which requires more than 3months for a non-Indian company. Howcould a contractor from Bangladeshcould participate in the bid at Kolkata inthis situation? It only created delays.These tenders had strange preconditionstoo to filter-out non-Indian companies.Irrespective of bid security value, thesubcontractor must deposit an amountof INR 20 lakh in the form of ‘Pay Order’or ‘Demand Draft’ in favor of BHEL,Kolkata. The remaining amount couldbe given in the form of ‘Bank Guaran-tee’. How could Bangladeshi companiestake out that amount of money? Evenafter all these, if a Bangladeshi companyturned out as the lowest bidder, rebid-ding was done even up to 4-5 times tillIndian companies turned out as the low-est bidder.

A huge number of semi-skilled and un-skilled labors was brought under A3 visafor both the projects and Bangladeshimanpower lost employment opportuni-ties.

Engr. Riaz Ahmed Jaber, AdditionalChief Engineer of Roads & Highways,questioned how long the operation andmaintenance of mega infrastructureprojects could be done sustainably un-less local resources are engaged rightfrom the inception? Bangladesh needslocal companies gathering experience

for operation of infrastructure. Malaysiaadvanced by introducing “Bhumiputra”concept. No company can work therewithout having local partners.Bangladesh must replicate such con-cept. The rules, regulations, proceduremust be translated in Bangla for easy un-derstanding.

Engr. Khondkar Saleque, Consultant Ed-itor of EP, informed that countries pro-tect the interest of local companies byformulating enabling policies. The proj-ect leadership must play leading role inpioneering engagement of competentlocal companies and utilizing local re-sources. He said that the local compa-nies are now constructing largehigh-diameter gas transmissionpipelines and other energy infrastruc-ture. Some Bangladeshi companieshave also successfully implementedmedium to large power projects, someare successfully working as main con-tractors and joint venture partners inroad, railway infrastructure develop-ment. The Payra and Rampal powerprojects are of similar nature.Bangladesh has lessons to learn fromhere. Strategies for protecting the inter-est of local companies could have beenbetter negotiated at project formulationstage. Works under 100% governmentfinancing must be preserved for localcompanies as many local companieshave competencies for delivering proj-ects of international standard.

13December 1, 2020

EP

A power plant in Sylhet, EPC done by Max Group Photo: Max Group

The implementation of hotly de-bated and much talked about1,320 MW capacity of Rampal

imported coal-fired power project ateco-sensitive area outside restricted ad-jacent area of Sundarban mangrove for-est would further prolong beyond 2021.The careless and abysmal performanceof EPC Contractor Bharat Heavy ElectricLimited (BHEL) has created serious un-certainties. A project of similar dimen-sion and complexities Payera 1320 MWpower plant, starting execution at leasttwo years later has already started com-mercial operation. The failures and de-lays of BHEL on the other hand has ledproject company Bangladesh IndiaFriendship Power Company Limited(BIFPCL) issuing letter of warning re-minding them of the right of imposition

of Liquidated Damage for delays byBHEL in port handling, completion ofdocumentation at customs and inlandtransportation of supplies. There are alsoallegations that BHEL mismanaged ten-dering process of engaging subcontrac-tors for various activities/packagescreating controversial issues and creat-ing imbalance in awarding the workswhich led to delay as many such sub-contractors, which got awarded highvolumes of work, failed to meet theschedule. Further, BHEL created highlyone-sided contract favoring BHEL withcomplex and unfair conditions whichtriggered disputes and failure of othersubcontractors. All these led to unfortu-nate development and now serious un-certainty is looming about thecompletion of works and bringing the

power plant into commercial operation.After initial delays in financial closuresand other approval related delays, therevised schedule of project completionwas January 2022 for 1st unit and July2022 for 2nd unit. Due to poor per-formance of BHEL in selection andmanagement of its own subcontractorsled to failing to achieve different mile-stones of the project on time. It appearsfrom records and correspondences ex-changed that BHEL made serious lapsesranging from bottlenecks in handlingmatters at Mongla port (inordinate de-lays in submitting required documentsby BHEL appointed logistic agency, forcustoms clearance, prolonged delays intransporting materials from port to proj-ect site). The failures and delays of BHELengaged Shipping Agents, C&F Agentand Transportation agents were broughtto the notice of BHEL on few occasionsby BIFCPL. But matters did not improve.Consequently all critical activities gotextraordinarily delayed jeopardizing thetimely completion of the project evenwithin the revised schedule of comple-tion.

Dispute Resolution between DGGC andBHEL is Essential Flawed process of engagement of sub-contractors by BHEL for various activitiesand mismanagement of subcontractagreements not only caused delays buthas led to disagreements and disputes.One such example is the subcontract be-tween BHEL and Dipon Gulf GeneralContracting LLC (DGGC), which is aUAE origin company run by non-resi-

Diabolic Performance of BHEL ProlongsRampal Power Project

Saleque Sufi

15

Article

December 1, 2020

Work­in­progress at Rampal Coal Power Plant project site File Photo

dent Indians (NRI). The latter companywas awarded four contracts after verycumbersome contracting processes.These were mainly civil works, ReadyMix Concrete Package (RMC), PillingPackage and New RMC Package. Thesecontracts were awarded at differenttimes from February 2018 to May 2019.The records evidenced that a very reluc-tant BHEL in engaging non-Indian Com-pany for works created impedimentsrelated to submission of security depositsand Bank Guarantee. The subcontractordespite being lowest evaluated bidderwas unnecessarily hassled. DGGC mo-bilized the manpower and resources ontime immediately after issuance of Letterof Intent and had to spend days at sitewaiting for other related activities tohappen. BHEL made many verbal prom-ises to keep it engaged at site withouteven issuing purchase order and notpaying with the excuse of non-issuanceof purchase order but actually due tocash flow problem of the project. Thematters were brought to BHEL attentionfrom time to time seeking redress but tono avail. In pressing situation DGGCsought release from works as they werealso suffering from cash flow problem fornon payments and idling their resourcesat site. DGGC was not allowed to taketheir equipment from sites even aftercompletion of 45% above the contrac-tual works of some packages. DGGC’sequipment were kept idle at site andthey were neither allowed to demobilizenor were they paid for keeping theirequipment at site. BHEL even refused toaccept settlement agreement which wassigned by them as per their own proce-dures and engagement of IndependentExpert Committee. All these led to dis-putes. DDGC claimed that contracts foreach package was signed as per speci-fied BOQ while BHEL insisted that thecontract was open ended. Now the dis-putes between the parties need resolu-tion through amicable settlement for thegreater interest of the project.

It may be mentioned here that BIFCPL,a joint venture of state-owned compa-nies of BPDB, Bangladesh and NTPCIndia was formed in 2012 for imple-menting imported coal based powerplant at Rampal Bagerhat 14 KM away

from the periphery of Sundarbans Man-grove Forest and 70 KM away from theUNESCO World Heritage reserve forest.The modern ultra-supercritical technol-ogy using power plant designed for in-corporating additional components forrestricting all possible and probable air,water and environment pollutions washindered by multifaceted impedimentscreated by a section of civil society, na-tional and international environmentactivists and UNESCO. BHEL, an IndianCompany was awarded the EPC Con-tract and the Financial Closure for theproject was concluded with Indian EximBank on 31 October 2012.

It may be mentioned for reference herethat that starting in 2014, Bangladesh —China Power Company Limited (A JV ofNWPGCL Bangladesh and CMC, China)forming Company in October 2014 andconcluding agreement with EPC con-tractor in March 2016 could success-fully start commercial operation of thefirst 660 MW unit in May 2020 and thesynchronizing the second unit in Sep-tember 2020 achieved COD in Novem-ber 2020. If the performance of twosimilar projects side by side is analyzedit is not difficult for any observer to iden-tity reasons why Payra project achievedsuccess and Rampal is struggling.

It is true that COVID 19 created someissues in the execution of the projectseverywhere in the world including

Bangladesh. But substantial projectworks by BHEL and its subcontractorsshould have been completed wellahead of COVID 19 outbreak. All con-struction materials and resources shouldhave been mobilized at site beforehand. BHEL cared little, did not super-vise the works of its various subcontrac-tors. The records show that BHEL alsodid not comply with their obligations tothe projects, ignored advice of BIFCPL.For the abysmal performance of EPCContractor BHEL, implementation ofRampal Power Project has entered crit-ical phase. We are now certain thatBIFCPL didn’t monitor the project effi-ciently like Bangladesh China PowerCompany did for Payra Project.

We must also point out that Ministryof Power, Energy and Mineral Re-source (MPEMR) should have inter-vened as Rampal Power project inan eco-sensitive location is a toppriority mega project of Bangladeshas well. One hopes that if required,the two friendly governments ofIndia and Bangladesh will assistBIFCPL in working a way out for ex-pediting project implementation.Lessons learnt from success of PayraProject and difficulties in Rampalproject must guide future projects inany in the country.

Saleque SufiContributing Editor, EP

16December 1, 2020

EP

Work­in­progress at Rampal Coal Power Plant project site File Photo

Experts at a recent virtual dialogue havestrongly criticized the government’s de-cision on importing lubricating oil de-spite already having enough capacity tomeet the local demand for the petro-leum product. They also came up heav-ily on the unholy practice by a sectionof the traders for supplying adulteratedlubricant in the local markets which iscausing irreparable damages to trans-ports and industrial machinery.

They also criticized the lack of compe-tence of the regulatory authorities thoserun with laboratories having limited test-ing facilities, and termed theBangladesh Energy Regulatory Commis-sion (BERC) ‘a puppet’ that does nothave experts or testing facilities.

Energy & Power magazine organizedthe discussion on “Challenges andProspects of Local Lubricant Industry”on November 21, as part of an “EPTalks” series. Industry experts, academ-ics and analysts took part in the discus-sion.

Professor Dr Ijaz Hossain, Dean, Facultyof Engineering at BUET, said lube oil isvery important and extremely criticalafter food and medicine. If standardquality is not maintained, it can seizemachineries and can also harm for notproper cooling. It surprises me that thegovernment is not giving proper careand attention. Witch hunting is going oneverywhere from cement industry toLPG. Regulators have entered everybusiness. Lube oil is also infected withthe same virus. There is no standard test-ing laboratory.

Similar problems of recycling were alsoexperienced like batteries. It wasthought that people would leave it free.You can also collect paying a little.There exist too many competitors in

Bangladesh. In India, there exist onlyfour companies for LPG industry. Alsohere, there are too many lube-blendingindustries. Bangladesh Petroleum Cor-poration (BPC) being a regulator mustnot have entered the business.

Mohammad Yousuf, Managing Directorof Lube Rref Limited, claimed that twomajor industries of Bangladesh canmeet the entire demand of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has no reason to import theproduct. The BPC is marketing itthrough imports. Instead of doing that,they can take royalty from the localtraders. We will request the BPC to visitour blending facilities and see that weproduce lube oils of same quality whatthey have planned to import.

He suggested that very sophisticated

MJL laboratory can be accredited fortesting. He also informed that about Tk1,500 crore is being invested for settingup a quality re-refinery. He also in-formed that Brazil does not import anybase oil after setting up re-refining facil-ity. Refined products are used. He suggested exploring the possibilitiesof using the same channels being usedfor marketing lubricating oils for collect-ing used oils. Many can share oneblending plant. It is an accepted prac-tice in other countries. No foreign na-tionals are working in Bangladesh lubeindustry. Local industries must be pro-tected with policies. The BPC initiativefor importing lube oil will prove to beself-destructive, he apprehended.

M M Mukul Hossain, CEO of MJLBangladesh Limited, mentioned that thelow value lubricants are being sold inthe market through filling the high-valuelubricant drums. Evil syndicates arewhitening black money through this.BPC, BSTI and BERC as regulators aretoothless tigers. They lack expertise. Weget different results while testing atBUET facility. We are still using 1957

standards. Some retailers have jointlyopened letter of credit. On testing, theproducts do not meet the declared spec-ifications.

He said the BPC has decided to importlube oil, but the specifications they pre-pared is tailor-made for one or two spe-cific suppliers. It appears that someconditions have been set to favor sup-

Lube Oil Import to be Self-destructiveEP Report

17

Special Report

December 1, 2020

Dr Ijaz Hossain

pliers from Dubai andIndonesia only. It willbe difficult to controlquality through im-porting lube oil by ten-ders. Unfaircompetition would becreated if the regula-tors enter the business.

He said that an initia-tive has been taken fora policy where there isa mention for re-refin-ing. This may be announced soon.Based on a formula, the used lube oilwill be re-refined. It is extremely difficultmaintaining standard if different qualityproducts are fed for refining. The BPC ismarketing 10 different products throughits four marketing companies. Eventhen, why they need importing lube oilof its own now, he questioned.

We have requested the BSTI to test lubeoils through their technicians in our lab-oratory. Testing takes few days. In suchcases consignments stuck at port addingcost. He suggested that mere financialpenalty imposed for adulterationswould not be enough. The mischiefmongers would continue doing mis-chiefs changing locations. He said adul-terated lube oils would cause damageto machinery. Up to 50% base productcan be recovered from used oils. 32%can be extracted through re-refining. Ofcourse, a significant foreign exchangecan be saved through proper recoveryand re-refining.

Mir Saifullah-Al-Khaled, Managing Di-rector of Meghna Petroleum Limited, in-formed that in 1997, there were onlytwo lube-blending factories, but thereare 15 now and three more are underthe process of approval. Still, few areimporting lube oils through under in-voicing. They are involved in manyother processes of market manipulation.The tariff value of lube oil now is US$2,000 per tonne. We used to import atUS$ 2,500 per tonne. Quite often, low-quality products are being importedfrom Dubai and marketed here. Fewcompanies have already closed downthe business as they failed to survive inthe unhealthy and unfair competition.

Only three companies are authorized torecycle (re-refining). Besides them,around 30 illegal companies are collect-ing used oils from ships, power plantsand transformers, and store these indrums with bleaching powder. Later,they market these without any furthertreatment. Due to using such adulter-ated lube oil, the machinery is losinglife. These used oils are now being soldthrough open tenders. For the nationalinterest, these should be sold only to theauthorized recycling companies only.The BERC, according to him, is nothingbut a puppet. They neither have quali-fied experts nor any testing facility.

Dr. Kazi Bayzid Kabir, Associate Profes-sor of BUET, mentioned that Bangladeshdoes not have base liquid for lube oilproduction. This is a fundamental prob-lem of the lube oil industry inBangladesh. Internationally, industrialstandard has advanced. But Bangladeshis still relying on outdated standards. Onrequest from the Customs Department,we in BUET assist testing once.Bangladesh market is flooded with lowquality lubricants. Around 60% of thedemand for raw materials of lube oilcould be met if used lube oils could beproperly recycled. These will help intwo ways — saving foreign exchange andgetting rid of substandard lube oil.

Engr. Khondkar Abdus Saleque pointedout that Bangladesh still follows old,outdated standards. The market size istoo small to accommodate too manyblending companies. Even then one reg-ulator, BPC, is also in the business. Suchconflict of interest is against the funda-mental principal of regulation. He sug-gested updating the standards by BSTI.

The BERC must have auditors for ensur-ing the quality of lube oils being tradedin the market. The regulator should setup standard testing laboratories or usethe facilities of local industries.

Moderating the discussion, Editor of En-ergy & Power magazine Mollah AmzadHossain informed that the annual de-mand for lube oil in the country is160,000 tonnes valued around Tk 5,000crore. It is a very small market, but al-most every global brand of lubricants ispresent here. The capacity of local in-dustry is more than enough for meetingthe local demand. There is even a rea-sonable surplus for export. Why thenBangladesh requires import? The mainchallenge is the presence low qualityadulterated, substandard lube oil.Sometimes, these are sold at lower pricethan base oil. For the interest of the lifeof transport and industry machinery,quality lube oil supply is essential. Theregulators have limited testing facilities.Laboratory-sharing culture exists every-where in the world. So, it can be donehere as well.

Recommendation

The government has been urged to en-sure the quality of lubricant to runsmoothly the industrial machinery up toits economic life and transports to theextent best. At the same time, the regu-lators must act against the unscrupuloustraders to stop adulteration. If needed,imports should be restricted in favor ofonly for the products which the localblending facilities cannot produce.

18December 1, 2020

M M Mukul Hossain Mir Saifullah­Al­Khaled Dr. Kazi Bayzid KabirMohammad Yousuf

EP

It is a great relief for the whole worldwhen US president-elect Joe Biden im-mediately after his landslide victory ut-tered that his government will rejoinwith the Paris Climate Accord to savethe planet as he utterly felt that if theplanet is safe then America and the restof the world will also be saved.

This was merely not his feeling, he alsoseriously meant it as he has chosen JohnKerry as the Special Presidential Envoyfor Climate. This is a newly created po-sition which is firmly and deeply fixedalong with the National Security Coun-cil – the main forum of presidential ad-visers and cabinet officials on nationalsecurity and foreign policy.

We are aware that John Kerry is a sea-soned diplomat to spearhead his climatepolicy. The long-term goal of going car-bon-neutral by 2050 is a strong, boldand clear policy that can be achieved ifthe developed nations like the UnitedStates of America, Canada, France, Ger-many especially the rich countries of G-20 under the dynamic leadership ofnewly elected US government are sin-cere and dedicated and thus make theplanet comfortable for the 7 billion peo-ple around the world. The aim of thisplan should be fingered for our nextgeneration.

Due to worsening climate degradationthe coming generation of the vulnerablecountries likes Bangladesh and manymore developing, under developing andleast developed countries along with andmid level developed countries includingeconomic giant countries of Asia - Chinaand India are in a great threat and it is theholy and sacred responsibility of the

present leadership of the developed na-tions to rescue the planet from the wors-ening degeneration.

Not America first, but Planet first

John Kerry, who has signed the Paris Cli-mate Accord on behalf of the then USgovernment in 2015, has already empha-sized about the promise of President-elect Joe Biden to consider the climate asone of the top most priorities of his gov-ernment during his 4-year tenure.

"America will soon have a governmentthat treats the climate crisis as the urgentnational security threat it is," John Kerrytweeted immediately after getting thissignificant assignment from Biden.

"It will be an honor to work with our al-lies and partners, alongside rising youngleaders in the climate movement, totackle the climate crisis with the serious-ness and urgency it deserves," he said inhis tweeted message.

John Kerry will enjoy his position as theSpecial Presidential Envoy for Climate.The National Security Council in whichhe has been embedded is the mainforum of presidential advisers and cabi-net officials on national security and for-eign policy.

The whole world especially the countrieswho love and concern about the safetyof the future generation always chanteda slogan that if the planet is safe Americawill also be saved. The environmentlovers and climate activists and scientistshave welcomed Kerry's appointment.

They said that after four years of sittingon the sidelines, the US has now finallynominated a high profiled, dignified, ex-

Not America FirstBut Planet First

Serajul Islam Quadir

19

World

December 1, 2020

John Kerry, who has signedthe Paris Climate Accord onbehalf of the then US gov-ernment in 2015, has al-

ready emphasized about thepromise of President-elect

Joe Biden to consider the cli-mate as one of the top mostpriorities of his government

during his 4-year tenure.

John Kerry

perienced and skilled representative onthe world climate platform who has pro-found knowledge and understandingabout the gravity of the climate crisisand has the experience and skills towork with the global community to helpaddress it.

Another voice said that the appointmentof John Kerry is very good news for theworld’s inhabitants who are concernedabout the climate.

The 76-year-old Kerry has a lot of experi-ence as a climate diplomat. As Secretaryof State under Barack Obama John Kerrywas the key architect of the Paris ClimateAccord and also assisted to negotiate theKyoto Protocol. He has an ideal personfor the job because international climatepolicy requires compromise.

Experience and skill of John Kerry is a valu-able asset indeed, an asset that nobody elsereally has. A similar sentiment and voicehave echoed by many other dignitariesacross the world including the former USpresidential candidate Gore himself whogreeted Kerry's appointment in a tweet, de-scribing him as "a superb choice."

Kerry's first main task will be to establishthe voice and images of the UnitedStates that has been jeopardized duringthe Trump administration in the globalcommunity dedicated to tackling cli-mate change.

The ability for him to deliver on thepromise of real US action to a skepticalinternational community is probablywill be one of the biggest challenges inhis role.

Kerry's overall success as climate envoymay well hinge on the willingness of theUS to commit international climate fi-nance and reductions in fossil fuel sub-sidies.

This will be more politically difficultthan diplomatic overtures and will re-quire political will domestically.

This is most likely why Kerry's position"will be matched" by a high-level WhiteHouse climate policy coordinator whois expected to focus on the domesticside of things.

In terms of concrete climate policy, thefirst step in 2021 will be rejoining the

Paris Climate Accord.

Biden has pledged climate neutrality by2050, a very important step in the rightdirection because with the US, Chinaand the EU now moving towards zeroemissions. Biden's pledge to take the USback into the Paris accord has boostedhopes of meeting the pact's ambitiousgoals.

Implementing new policies on a na-tional level to reverse Trump’s policywill be tough and a lot depends onwhether Biden wins the Senate –which won't be decided until January.3If Biden doesn't win the Senate, it is pos-sible that many of the new measureswill end up in the courts.

Serajul Islam Quadir;The writer is the former Bureau Chief andChief Correspondent of Reuters inBangladesh. He is at present the ExecutiveEditor of the American Chambers’ Journaland a regular contributor of the Energy andPower Journal. He can be reached at: serajulquadir26879@gmail.com

21December 1, 2020

EP

Acountry’s macro level energy sec-tor assessments are generally pre-pared based on the data obtained

from different sources, but provided inthe National Energy Balance as one ofsuch key data source. Many countriesprepare them regularly, often followinginternationally available guidelines. Thishelps in comparison between the peri-ods (years) maintaining uniformity withharmonized concepts so that the com-parison between countries is also madepossible. A country’s leadership or thetop energy experts may provide a visionon the energy sector for the future. Na-tional energy policies, strategies, targets,and roadmaps are then prepared usingthe baseline data available from theaforesaid Energy Balance and the macrolevel data and forecasts from the elec-tricity utilities, and at times with the par-ticipation of the regulators.

The United Nations Statistical Commis-sion agreed to use Energy Balances asthe key instrument to coordinate energystatistics in a suitable form in 1976. AnEnergy Balance is a complete snapshotdepicting energy situation of a countryin one common unit of measurement ina compact format. It contains summer-ized information on total amount of en-ergy produced or extracted from theenvironment, traded (imports and ex-ports), transformed and consumed byend-users from different economic sec-tors (commercial establishments, indus-tries, and transportation etc.). Therefore,Energy Balance is a complete statisticalaccount of energy products and theirflows in an economy during a referenceperiod, reliability of which is enhancedby cross checking for coherence, consis-

tency and credibility, and reconciliation.

The energy balance presents all statisti-cally significant data on energy com-modities of a country and allowsperforming an analysis in many relatedareas with the computation of severaluseful ratios and indicators such as en-ergy intensity, import dependency, andenergy security; and cross domain indi-cators such as energy consumption perGDP or per capita, or grid emission fac-tors such as Greenhouse gas emission interms of tons of CO2 equivalent fromthe generation of 1 MWh of electricity;get to know the shares of generation orconsumption mixes of energy (e.g. theproportion of renewable energy in thetotal energy generation mix, or the dif-ferent types of generators and consumersectors in the said mixes); and assess-ment of the transformation process andfuel conversion efficiencies. The EnergyBalance presents the profile and dynam-ics of the overall domestic energy mar-ket and serves as a starting point informulation of energy policies, strate-gies, targets, and roadmaps, and then inmonitoring their impact after a period.

It is also a fact that the data and infor-mation pertaining to energy are widelydispersed across various locations andsources. Data may or may not be avail-able at sub-national level with many or-ganizations, at times with considerabledegree of neglect or overlaps. The databeing in different forms and units is an-other challenge. There is an issue ofstandardization of energy data. The ac-curacy and completeness of data collec-tion at the decentralized or grassrootslevel can also be hampered by differ-

ences in understanding of the meaningsand interpretation of terms being usedand lack of explanation or clarification.This can eventually lead for energyanalysis to misinterpret the reality.

For most of the countries, it is hard to as-certain the energy demand side data.Under the given circumstances, energydata may be derived from the supplyside using proxies or approximationsbased on assumptions or sample data.When it comes to a commodity likeelectricity, petroleum, coal, or LPGwhich are more of commercial com-modities by nature, it may be assumedthat the consumption is equal to salesdata, where as in reality, sales data(which are comparatively easy to ascer-tain) on an energy commodity may notbe the same as that of its consumption.However, inefficiencies and wastes maybe accounted for and relevant figuresadjusted accordingly.

The Energy Balances serve many pur-poses in the economy and policy of acountry. However, apart from the statis-tical differences, disparities in transfor-mation efficiencies, and incomplete flowof data, there are many other limitationsof Energy Balances. Its scope may notinclude the energy resources and re-serves that were not exploited within thereference period of consideration andpassive energy such as heat gain ofbuildings and solar energy falling onland that grow biomass. These need notbe included as these are not used withinthe period under review. At the sametime, there are certain commodities thatcould be used both as an energy sourceand for some other purposes, for in-

The Energy Balance and Assessments for Energy Policies, Strategies, and Roadmaps

The Missing Elements of Ground RealitiesNamiz Musafer

22

Special Article

December 1, 2020

stance, the bitumen used in road con-struction or petroleum used in manufac-ture of plastics. In some industries thegenerated waste heat from the manufac-turing processes or their by-products canalso be used as a source of energy by thesame entity. It is generally hard to obtaindata related to these types of use. In cer-tain countries, even obtaining data onself-generation of electricity from solarPV, diesel, or coal etc. may not be acces-sible from the relevant users. There canalso be some confusion or deficienciesin accuracies related to measuring, esti-mating, or calculation of non-energyproducts used as sources of energy suchas biomass obtained from forestry, timberor wood industry, certain agriculturalresidues, and waste. The energy suppliedand used in the informal sector poses abigger threat to make accurate estima-tions in cases such as fuelwood collectedfrom home gardens or neighbourhood,often at no cost, and sources such asdung cakes. Some of the implementationpractices of the countries also can con-tribute towards distorted energy data.

‘Energy’ is the ability to do work or pro-duce heat, which can neither be creatednor destroyed, but can be transformedfrom one form to another. There aremany forms of energy classified underkinetic energy and potential energysuch as thermal, motion, chemical, ra-diant, sound, elastic, gravitational, nu-clear, and electricity. However, at themacro level, it appears that very oftenthe term ‘energy’ is used for ‘electricity’alone, or ‘electricity and gas’ alone, and

concentrate the national energy issuesand solutions in terms of them, surpris-ingly being ignorant of not only thehousehold sector, but also the non-elec-tricity energy use in the transportationand industrial sectors as well.

From the birth of a human, in his all ac-tivities, he uses his muscle power, trans-forming the chemical energy in theconsumed food into motion energy. Healso uses animal power in different ap-plications, whether in agriculture, trans-portation, or industries (non-motorizedcomponents). Solar radiation in the formof heat or light is used directly for nu-merous purposes. Getting natural light-ing, drying wet clothes, preserving foodthrough solar dehydration, heatingwater, staying out in the sun to feelwarmth, and defreezing certain liquidssuch as cooking oils are just a few ex-amples. Then comes the use of solar ra-diation though some devices in additionto the solar PV and solar thermal powergeneration technologies, such as solarwater heating, solar greenhouses, solarcookers, solar water pumping, solarlanterns, solar charging units, and solardesalinization of saline water. Apartfrom generating electricity, wind energyis used for water pumping, millinggrains, transportation, grain separationin agricultural processing, and in sports,etc. while hydro energy is used in indus-trial mechanical energy, milling grains,and lifting water etc. The energy valuesof these activities can not only be verysubstantial but very significant, but allthese energy uses are hardly taken into

account in Energy Balances. The actualenergy availability and use of a countryshould ideally include these, although itis well understood that collecting datais a very complicated job. If an EnergyBalance does not include this enormousamount of unaccounted energy, such adocument reflects a wrong picture fromthe real situation and misinterpret them.

The key message to be delivered fromthis paper is more important. Whether itis the political leaders, planners, inter-national community or especially, mul-tilateral development and financingagencies which are committed to erad-icating poverty, improving and sharingprosperity, building resilience, and harpon reducing inequalities and exclusion,and inclusive and sustainable develop-ment, base their decisions on NationalEnergy Balances and electricity, gas orcoal development extension or expan-sion plans particularly considering thecommercial scale interventions. Nearly10% of the world population live in ex-treme poverty as estimated by the WorldBank in 2015. Therefore, there is a veryhigher tendency to disregard the un-heard groups in poverty whose povertyis talked about and targeted to be erad-icated as per the missions of leadingagencies if they are guided by the cur-rent Energy Balances. If their energy re-lated data and details are unrepresentedor under-represented in the Energy Bal-ance, they would be totally neglectedand the political leaders and interna-tional agencies may work on macro andsurface level without addressing the realissues on ground. Not only that, due tomissing data and lack of accurate data,their policies, strategies, targets, androadmaps may take a wrong trajectorythat do not serve the poor while inclu-sion of such data in the Energy Balancesmay provide innovative, marketable,and profitable packages and solutions toserve those who deserved to the servedwhile the investors could make a rea-sonable return on investment by makingthe right move for a world full of pros-perity and world free of poverty, asthinking beyond the box would open upa range of new opportunities for win-win outcomes.

Namiz Musafer;Director, Sri Lanka Energy Managers, andIntegrated Development Associations

23December 1, 2020

EP

Greenhouse gas emission Photo: Web

AUNDP publication identifieddifferent types of deprivationand persons who may left be-

hind. First category under Discrimina-tion people are left behind when theyexperience exclusion, bias or mistreat-ment due to their identity in terms ofgender, age, income, ethnicity, caste,religion, disability, sexual orientation,nationality, as well as, indigenous,refugee, displaced or migratory status.Second category considering geo-graphical condition where people lackaccess to basic services like roads, pub-lic transport, broadband, sanitation andenergy. Overall, people in rural areasacross low and middle-income coun-tries are far more likely to be multi-di-mensionally poor than people in urbanareas. Governance matters, inequitableglobal trade, finance, investment andintellectual property regimes also pre-vent many countries, particularlysmaller ones, from fully engaging in, orbenefiting from, globalization. In fourthcategory Socio-Economic status andlaws determine people’s ability to stayhealthy, get an education, acquireskills, stay safe and avoid setbacks, in-herit or acquire wealth; own land; findand sustain jobs or livelihoods; de-mand decent jobs and safe workingconditions; benefit from insurance andsocial protection systems; start, form, fi-nance and formalize small/micro busi-nesses; open a bank account; andbenefit from trade and investment. Fi-nally, in terms of Shocks and fragilitypeople get left behind when they arevulnerable to risks related to violence,

conflict, displacement, large move-ments of migrants, environmentaldegradation, natural hazard induceddisasters and other types of climateevents, or health shocks.

Against deprivation, four magic wordof SDG basics ‘Leave no one behind’has long been practiced in Bangladesheven before the SDG inception whichgot momentum from 2009 and over thelast one decade, under the visionaryleadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minis-ter Sheikh Hasina and is being called'development surprise’ and ‘role modelof development'.

Along with other policy decisions, keenpolitical commitment, resource mobi-lization, supportive policy interven-tions, inclusive and pro-poormacroeconomic measures, increasedgirls’ enrolment and women empower-ment upgraded Bangladesh to middleincome country and drives to thegolden gate of LDC graduation with somany prestigious awards.

Despite many successes in MDGs, thepoorest and most vulnerable peopleare being left behind. Gender inequal-ity persists, big gaps exist between thepoorest and richest households, andbetween rural and urban areas, climatechange and environmental degradationundermine progress achieved, andpoor people suffer the most, conflictsremain the biggest threat to human de-velopment, millions of poor people stillare homeless, live in poverty and

hunger without access to basic serv-ices. Pandemic Corona, cyclone Am-phan, repeated flood and river erosionthis year added further misery to thevulnerable.

‘Leave no one behind’ and ‘Reach thefurthest behind first’ the cornerstonealong with three dimensions: economicgrowth, environmental sustainability,and social inclusion made SDG a co-hesive and integrated package ofglobal aspirations. This means theSDGs require all goals to be reached,for everyone — especially those at themargins of society. It means investingin women and girls, youth and mostvulnerable people. It involves mobiliz-ing local action and commitment to-wards one common goal: a betterfuture for all. Moreover, 'Leaving noone behind' means ending extremepoverty in all its forms, and reducinginequalities among both individualsand groups. So, the key to ‘leave noone behind’ is the prioritisation andfast-tracking of actions for the poorestand most marginalized people on theway towards progressive universalism.Averages and generalized progress area misnomer, not enough because theydo not ensure inclusion of all, rathermarginalized people are missing fre-quently. ‘Leaving no one behind’ putsas much emphasis on who benefits andhow much against each delivery. So,decisions need to move away frombusiness-as-usual approaches to thesustainable use of resources and peace-ful with inclusive societies.

Climate Vulnerability

Covid and SDG Implementation

24

SDGs

December 1, 2020

Unique character of SDG for ensuringinclusiveness used the concept ofwhole of the society approach with theterminology end, for all, inclusive, uni-versal, equitable, equal and so on. Ifwe analyze the sustainable develop-ment goals and associated targetsdeeply, we will see that the word ‘end’has been used in two goals: SDG 1(end poverty), SDG 2 (end hunger) andin eleven targets, the phrase ‘for all’ hasbeen used in six goals: SDG 3 (ensurehealthy lives), SDG 4 (quality educa-tion), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 7(modern energy), SDG 8 (economicgrowth & employment), SDG 16(strong institutions)) and eighteen tar-gets. Besides this, the word ‘inclusive’has been used in five goals: SDG 4,SDG 8, SDG 9 (resilient infrastructure),SDG 11 (human settlement), SDG 16and five targets. In addition, the word‘universal’ has been used in eight tar-gets, ‘rights’ has been used in six tar-gets, ‘equitable’ has been used in onegoal: SDG 4 and seven targets. Finally,the word ‘equal/equality’ has beenused in two goals: SDG 5, SDG 10 (re-duce inequality) and in twelve targets.All targets of Goal 10 are about reduc-ing inequalities. So, it can be said thatno goal can be considered as met un-

less met for everyone and therefore the‘Leaving no one behind’ imperative ap-plies to all 17 goals. Hence, leave noone behind means reaching every sin-gle person and it has been credited asone of the beauties of the agenda 2030. In Bangladesh context, the people whomight be left behind are landless peo-ple, homeless people, people who livein hard to reach areas of char, haor,hilly and disaster-prone areas, widows,divorced, distressed women, old agepeople, single mother, adolescent girls,persons with disabilities, work injuryvictims, people who live in the coastalareas and climatically vulnerable areas,small farmers, fishermen with tradi-tional knowledge. Along with the peo-ple identified above, people who mightbe left behind are HIV/AIDS affectedpeople, people suffering from infec-tious disease, people suffering frommental disorder, drug-addicted youths,injured people through road traffic ac-cident, dropout children from schools,youth not in education, employment ortraining. Female students who areprone to violence, domestic aides, andtransgender also have the possibility tobe left behind. Ethnic communities andmarginalized people involved in clean-ing, tea garden labouring, gardening,

drum beating, washing, Bajander,Dai, Hajam, Robidas and Rishi(leather workers/cobbler), barber,snake charmer etc might be leftbehind in the SDGs. This list hasbecome longer due to Coronawith day labour, rickshaw puller,transport worker, worker in microand small industry, people em-ployed in informal sector, that isalmost all the people except inthe public sector. Amphan andrepeated flood contributed inadding more vulnerable due totidal surge, saline water, inunda-tion and erosion. Sufferings bothin number and dimension hasbeen increased in many folds inlast eight months due to corona,

hard hit by Amphan and severe re-peated flood and river erosion.

Bangladesh has made significantprogress in addressing rights of personswith disability by enacting laws, smallloan facilities, allowances for insolventpersons with disabilities, pension facil-ities after death of parents holding gov-ernment job, benefit of governmentfamily saving certificate, stipend for stu-dents with disabilities and so many.Disability Welfare Foundation Act, Na-tional Disability Development Agency,Autism Trust, Bangladesh NationalBuilding Code 2015, Dhaka BuildingConstruction Act 2008, National Indus-trial Policy 2016, draft Bangladesh In-dustrial Design Act 2016, and draftNational Web Accessibility standard2016 which are relevant to SDGs cre-ated opportunity to bring the personswith disabilities to the mainstreamalong with different types of financialsupport, education facilities, healthcare, job opportunity, access to govern-ment facilities and sale of their prod-ucts. (to be continued)

Md. Abul Kalam Azad;Former Principal Secretary andPrincipal SDG Coordinator

25December 1, 2020

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December 1, 2020

State Minister for Power,Energy and Mineral Re-

sources Nasrul Hamid hassaid that the country willachieve the target of accessto electricity for all by De-cember this year.

He made the disclosure at ameeting with executivecommittee of the Forum forEnergy Reporters Bangladesh(FERB), a journalist body ofthe working reporters in en-ergy and power sector, re-cently at the Power Division.

Nasrul Hamid said the gov-ernment will celebrate theachievement of cent percentelectricity accessibility dur-ing this year’s National Vic-tory Day on December 16.

All the areas of the countrywill come under electricitygrid network by the timewhile the off-grid areas willget electricity through solarhome system, he added.

He mentioned thatBangladesh Rural Electrifica-tion Board (BREB) and otherdistribution companies havebeen working relentlessly toachieve the goal of makingelectricity accessible for all.

According to the availablestatistics at the Power Divi-sion, more than 98 percentareas of the country have al-ready been under grid system.

The country’s present in-stalled power generation ca-pacity has 23,548 MWthrough 139 power plantswhile highest available gen-eration is 12,893 MW.

The Power Division datashows the transmission linecapacity has increased to12,379 circuit line kilometerwhile the distribution line hasenhanced to 588,000 kilome-ters.

The number of total electric-ity consumers has reached27.9 million while per capitaelectricity consumption is512 kilowatt hours.

FERB executive committeechairman Arun Karmaker,executive director ShamimJahangir and other directorsand members of the execu-tive body were present at themeeting at the Power Divi-sion.

Access to Power for Allwithin December: Nasrul

The government will notprovide new piped natural

gas connections to industrieslocated outside the country'sdesignated economic zones,or EZs, after March 2021.

The Energy and Mineral Re-sources Division under theMinistry of Power, Energy andMineral Resources, orMoPEMR, has decided to pro-vide new gas connectionsonly to industries inside theeconomic zones after fourmonths to discourage un-planned industrializationacross the country.

The designated EZs includeall which have been ap-proved by Bangladesh Eco-

nomic Zones Authority, orBEZA, and Bangladesh Smalland Cottage Industries Corpo-ration, or BSCIC.

The MoPEMR has already is-sued directives to all state-rungas distribution companies tocarry out the energy ministry'sdirectives on new gas con-nections to industries.

"We have decided not to enter-tain new gas connections to in-dustries outside the economiczones after March next year inline with the instructions fromPrime Minister Sheikh Hasina,"said a senior official.

The industries that will re-ceive approval for getting gasoutside the economic zonesuntil next March will, how-

ever, get gas access, hesaid.

The decision has beentaken to streamline thecountry's growth of in-dustrialization in aplanned way, headded.

No Gas Connec�ons to IndustriesOutside of EZs A�er March

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India’s power consumptiongrew 7.8 per cent to 50.15 bil-

lion units (BU) in the first half ofNovember this year, showingrise in economic activities, asper government data.

Power consumption in the coun-try was recorded at 46.52 BUfrom November 1-15, accordingto the power ministry data.

For a full month in Novemberlast year, power consumptionwas 93.94 BU.

Thus, the extrapolation of half-month data clearly indicatesthat power consumption maywitness year-on-year growthfor the third month in a row,according to experts.

After a gap of six months,power consumption recordeda growth of 4.4 per cent inSeptember this year at 112.24BU compared to 107.51 BUin the same month last year.

India’s power consumptiongrew nearly 12 per cent to109.53 billion units (BU) inOctober this year as against97.84 BU in the same monthlast year.

The growth in power con-sumption in the first half of thismonth showed that there isconsistency in improvementin commercial and industrialdemand due to easing of lock-down restrictions, expertssaid.

India’s Power ConsumptionGrows 7.8pc in Nov

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December 1, 2020

Petrozavodsk Branch of JSC“AEM-technology” has ac-

complished hydraulic testingof housings of the reactorcoolant pump set (RCPS)being part of a set of items in-tended for the first power unitof Rooppur Nuclear PowerPlant (RNPP).

Hydraulic testing is one of themost important types of in-spection to be carried out dur-ing manufacture of the pumphousings. It is an instrumentalin confirmation of strengthand tightness of items.

According to the testingschedule, the RCPS housing is

to be filled with specially pre-pared water, which is thenheated with steam. The mini-mum temperature of the hous-ing wall heating is 52 degreeCelsius.

The pressure is to be built upto 24.5 MPa (over 240 atmos-pheres) and held within 10minutes. After the pressure re-duction, the visual inspectionis to be performed. After that,the RCPS housing is to be sub-jected to the repeated liquidpenetrant testing, followingwhich the item is to be pre-pared for shipment to the Cus-tomer.

Petrozavodsk AccomplishedHydraulic Tests of Pump

Housings for RNPP

State Minister for Power,Energy and Mineral Re-

sources Nasrul Hamid re-cently said thegovernment gave specialimportance to the expan-sion of clean and greenenergy.

“Special importance hasbeen given to expansionof clean and green energyin the country,” he told In-dian High Commissionerto Bangladesh Vikram Do-raiswami at his ministryoffice.

He said Bangladesh andIndia have many opportu-nities to work together forthe development of energysector in the region.

The newly appointed In-dian High Commissionerto Bangladesh Vikram Do-raiswami paid a courtesycall on Nasrul Hamid andsaid India witnessedBangladesh’s relationshipwith respect.

“Bangladesh can act as anenergy hub in the region.The energy hub could be

integrated by exchangingpower, technology, savingelectricity and energy andproducing machineriesjointly,” he said.

Nasrul Hamid said inte-grated development planshave been adopted inDelta Planning, adding,“Trilateral investment inhydropower projects inNepal could be taken for-ward.”

During the bilateral meet-ing they discussed variousissues of mutual interestincluding electric vehi-cles.

India-Bangladesh friend-ship pipeline, cross-bor-der pipeline by H-Energy,cross-border pipeline byIOCL, construction ofpower transmission line,activities of ONGC (OVL),Bangladesh-India Friend-ship Power Company, hy-dropower import fromNepal and Bhutan, fuelsaving etc were also dis-cussed in the meeting.

Nasrul for SpecialImportance on Expansion

of Clean, Green Energy Energypac Power Genera-tion Ltd is going to float ini-

tial public offering (IPO) onDecember 7 to collect Tk 150crore public subscription.

Energypac has already gath-ered 50 percent of the amountthrough Book-buildingmethod, says a press release.

General investors will nowapply for 50 percent shares. Inorder to execute this, the reg-ulatory body has finalized thedate for receiving IPO appli-cations.

Earlier, eligible institutional in-vestors in their recent biddingshave set the reference pricefor each Energypac share atBDT 35.

Individual investors will beable to purchase the remainingshares at BDT 31.50 per shareafter a 10% discount on thecut-off price. The companywill spend its Tk 150 croreraised through IPO to expandits business, cover bank loans,and IPO expenditures.

On October 21, in the 745thgeneral committee meeting ofBangladesh Securities and Ex-change Commission (BSEC,)approval has been given togeneral investors to apply.

According to the company'sfinancial statements datedJune 30, 2019, the Net AssetValue (NAV) per share, includ-ing revaluation reserves,stands at Tk. 45.11, and theNet Asset Value per share (ex-cluding revaluation reserves)stands at Tk. 30.20. Earningsper Share (EPS) during the yearstood at Tk. 3.13.

Weighted Average Earningsper Share for the last 5 yearstands at BDT 2.21.

Earlier on August 06, 2020, theBSEC in its 734th meeting, gaveconsent to the company to startelectronic bidding. Lanka-Bangla Investments Limited isgiven the charge for the com-pany's Issue Manager.

Energypac Floats IPO on Dec 7to Raise Tk 150cr

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December 1, 2020

ing between Golar, an op-erator of carriers for natu-ral gas shipping, andglobal floating liquefiednatural gas (FLNG) solu-tions leader Black &Veatch reflects the grow-ing sway of hydrogen andammonia in a sustainableenergy economy.

Golar’s deep experiencein delivering and operat-ing paradigm-shifting,low-cost floating liquefiednatural gas (LNG) infra-structure complementsBlack & Veatch’s status as

a leading provider of LNGtechnology, an industryforce in advancing decar-bonization and an expertin green energy technolo-gies.

“This collaboration buildson years of deliveringcommercial and technol-ogy innovation withGolar, a visionary in mon-etizing natural gas re-serves,” said Hoe WaiCheong, president ofBlack & Veatch’s oil andgas business.

As the world acceler-ates to greener and

decarbonized energy so-lutions, Black & Veatchand Golar LNG announcethe expansion of their

long-standing collabora-tion, focusing on broaden-ing floating production ofblue and green hydrogenand ammonia.

The memo of understand-

Black & Veatch, Golar AnnounceCollabora�on in Energy Technologies

As the government isgoing ahead with a plan

to ensure energy security ofthe country, the authoritiesconcerned have acceleratedthe process of setting up fivepower plants having a totalgeneration capacity of3,800MW at Matarbari.

“As there is a plan to turnMatarbari into a power hub,the government has takensteps to set up a port and aLNG terminal there for facili-tating easy transportation ofcoal and LNG to run thepower plants there,” StateMinister for Power, Energyand Mineral Resources Nas-rul Hamid said.

He said the power plant proj-ects will be implemented ei-ther in public sector or injoint venture with reputedforeign companies as part ofthe Power System MasterPlan 2016 of the government.

“Prime Minister SheikhHasina has also given priority

to the power and energy sec-tor as it is an important com-ponent for industrializationas well as for the country’ssocio-economic develop-ment,” said Nasrul Hamid.

As par several deals to set uppower plants at Matarbari be-tween 2024 and 2029, ac-cording to the PowerDivision officials. Japan Inter-national Cooperation Agency(JICA) is financing major por-tion of those projects atMatarbari, an island Upazilaof Moheshkhali.

Initial works of a two-unitpower plant, each having acapacity 600 MW, is goingon in the project site ofMatarbari. Civil works, in-cluding building jetty andchannel, construction ofpower plant boiler (EPC part),setting up of power plant tur-bine and generator (EPCpart), and coal and ash man-agement (EPC part) systemare progressing there.

Work on 5 Power PlantsProgressing Fast at Matarbari

Bangladesh Power Devel-opment Board (BPDB)

fears to incur huge loss asBangladesh Economic ZonesAuthority (BEZA) considerspurchasing electricity fromnon-grid sources at eco-nomic zones.

BEZA plans to set up series ofcommercial electricity orcaptive power plants underown supervision in the eco-nomic zones bypassingBPDB.

The BPDB has already beenfacing trouble for over 40percent of unused electricityand it is encouraging captivepower users for using gridelectricity through introduc-tion of reliable distributionsystem.

But, the Bangladesh Eco-nomic Zones Authority(BEZA) move to introducecommercial electricity mayfail in vain, official sourcessaid.

The captive power or com-mercial electricity (non-gridpower) contributes over3000MW electricity out oftotal 23,548MW of grid ca-pacity.

If BEZA’s is implemented,BPDB thinks that such movewould put them into a hugefinancial loss and create un-certainty for the implementa-tion of power system masterplan (PSMP) 2016.

PSMP was prepared aimed atformulating an extensive en-

ergy andpower devel-opment planup to the year2041, cover-ing energy bal-ance, powerbalance, andtariff strategies.

PDB Fears Loss Amid BEZA’sMove to Use Non-grid Power

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The technology group Wärt-silä’s long-standing preferred-supplier status with LuckyCement, one of Pakistan’sleading producers and ex-porters of cement, has re-sulted in yet more orders forengine generating sets.

Lucky Cement’s Pezu powerplant in Pakistan’s KhyberPakhtunkhwa (KPK) provincealready operates with tenWärtsilä dual-fuel enginessupplying the electricityneeded to run the produc-tion, said a press release.

With new cement lines in-stalled, an additional threeWärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel en-gines, each with an output of10 MW, have been ordered toprovide the additional powerrequired for the power plantwithout grid connection.

The orders were placed inApril, August, and November2020.The Wärtsilä enginesare capable of operating onvarious fuels, but will be fu-elled primarily by natural gas,the cleanest of all fossil fuelsproducing notably lower lev-els of emissions than coal oroil.

Furthermore, the Pezu facilityis a combined cycle powerplant, utilizing steam gener-ated from a waste heat recov-ery boiler to produceadditional electricity, thussaving energy that would oth-erwise be wasted. In com-bined cycle mode, powerplants can achieve efficiencylevels much higher than con-ventional plants.

Wärtsilä to Deliver 30MW PowerPlant for Pakistani Cement Producer

LNG is an ideal replacementfuel for conventional diesel,as it is far more environmen-tally-friendly and easier tohandle. That is the outcomeof a joint pilot project run byRWE Supply &Trading andduisport, the operating com-pany of Duisburg Port.

The collaborative project,run with the scientific sup-port of the University of Duis-burg-Essen studied the use ofLNG in the world’s largest in-land port over a period oftwo years between 2018 and2020.

“LNG is already a good solu-tion for reducing emissions inheavy goods transport andshipping, until alternativepropulsion systems such ashydrogen or synthetic fuels

become economically viableand available in sufficientquantities. We are thereforedelighted that our partnerRolande has recently built anLNG station in the Port ofDuisburg,” said AndreeStracke, Chief CommercialOfficer Origination & GasSupply at RWE Supply &Trading.

“We have been striving forsustainable logistics at Duis-burg Port for a long time now.Our joint project with RWEand the University of Duis-burg-Essen has successfullyshown that the use of LNGleads to a better environmen-tal footprint. At the sametime, the use of LNG is safeand offers convincing bene-fits in terms of economic effi-ciency, and in heavy vehicle

transportation ithas proved itsworth as an al-ternative todiesel in theport area — andthe trend is ris-ing”, com-mented duisportCEO ErichStaake.

German Confirms LNG BoostsTransition to Clean Mobility

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Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has in-curred a loss of Tk 24.72 billion in Q1 since July for selling

electricity at tariffs lower than the purchase cost from rental,quick rental, independent power plants and imported powerfrom India.

The loss was Tk 3.64 billion higher compared to the same pe-riod of the last fiscal year.

Use of electricity has increased significantly in Q1 comparedto Q4 in the last fiscal year as power demand has increased inindustries as the economy is gradually getting normal shape.

Besides, capacity payment of the private power plants also ateup the subsidy significantly.

The government has estimated to pay compensation of Tk3.21 for per unit of electricity for the payment of46,229,755,029 kilowatts of electricity to private power pro-ducers in August, 2020.

Then, the consumers use only 19,875,478,498 kilowatts ofelectricity out of 27,223,316,117 kilowatts of total generation.The rest is capacity payment.

“Electricity generation cost depends on fuel cost. But the de-preciation of Bangladeshi taka and a fall in the demand forelectricity amid the corona crisis have increased the cost ofelectricity,” state-run BPDB said in a letter to the Power Divi-sion at the end of October, 2020.

Costly Power Causes Tk 24.72bnLoss for BPDB in Q1

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N uclear technology and nu-clear power has become

one of the most reliable, cost-ef-fective, safe and environment-friendly energy sources for 21stcentury, said Russian NuclearPower Engineering.

Deputy Head of NuclearPhysics and Engineering De-partment, Obninsk Institutefor Nuclear Power Engineer-ing of the National ResearchNuclear University MEPhIAlexander Nakhabov madethe remarks at a webinar.

A group of journalists took partin the webinar organized byRosatom, according to a mes-

sage received here recently.

While talking about the mod-ern generation 3+ nuclear re-actors of VVER-1200 design,he said design basis of VVER-1200, including equipment,systems of the reactor unitand safety systems are char-acterized by properties of in-ternal self- protection,passive safety properties andprovision of safety barriers.

Alexander Nakhabov, in hispresentation, talked aboutRussia ’s role in developmentof nuclear energy around theworld, particularly in new-comer countries.

M uhammed AzizKhan, Founding

Chairman of SummitGroup of Companies hasbeen hailed as one ofAsia ’s Outstanding Lead-ers at the ACES Awards2020, organized byMORS Group.

He was recognized by theJury Panel for his out-standing leadership andwas 1 of only 7 winnersrepresenting Singapore atthis year ’s ACES Awards.

A virtual press conferencewas held recently to an-nounce the winners of theACES Awards 2020.

During the event, CEO ofMORS Group, ShanggariBalakrishnan remarked,“Summit ’s infrastructurecreation e�orts havemade them the harbingersof economic hope andprosperity.”

On receiving the award,Muhammed Aziz Khansaid, “I hope to be able tocare for people and lead

by example. I believe Iam constantly creatingleaders among my family,colleagues and friends.”

Muhammed Aziz Khan isthe founder and Chair-man of several entities,including Summit PowerInternational Limited,Summit Holdings Ltd andIPCO Developments(Bangladesh) Limited.

Summit Group ’s head of-�ce in Singapore is thelargest infrastructuregroup in Bangladesh, em-ploying over 6,000 peo-ple, with investments inthe energy sector, ports,logistics, informationtechnology and hospital-ity.

In 2020, Forbes listed himas the 37th richest personin Singapore. Apart fromhelming the SummitGroup, Aziz Khan is alsothe Honorary ConsulGeneral of Finland toBangladesh.

Aziz Khan Recognized asAsia’s Outstanding

Leader M AN Energy Solutions haswon the order to supply

another MAN 12V35/44G TSgas engine to the public utili-ties (Stadtwerke) of the town ofSchwäbisch Hall in southernGermany.

The genset will increase theoutput of the existing com-bined-heat-and-power (CHP)plant to a total of 15 MW,and will replace an existing,outdated engine.

The new engine will deliveran electrical e�ciency of46%, compared to 39% forthe existing unit, thus signi�-cantly increasing the e�-ciency of the entire plant; theoverall e�ciency of CHP op-eration will eventually ex-ceed 90%.

The power plant on Alfred-Leikam-Street has producedelectrical energy and heat forthe local heating-network ofthe city since 1997.

MAN Energy Solutions previ-ously delivered an engine ofthe same type to StadtwerkeSchwäbisch Hall in 2018.

“The customer is very satis-�ed with the performance ofthe existing gas engine.Stadtwerke Schwäbisch Hallwas particularly impressedby the plant's above-averageelectrical e�ciency and �ex-ibility, and are once again re-lying on our cogenerationsolutions for this planned ex-pansion,” said Dr. TilmanTütken, Head of Sales, PowerPlants Europe, at MAN En-ergy Solutions.

The new engine will be oper-ated for around 4,000 hoursa year using combined-heat-and-power technology. Dueto the existing, district-heat-ing storage, it will also bepossible to decouple it fromthe heating network and tobe used to generate electric-ity solely.

Expands German CHP-Plant

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33December 1, 2020

The government has decided to intro-duce a Green Factory Award to ensureworkplace safety for the workers, safe-guard the environment from pollutionand maintain compliance with interna-tional standards.

The labor and employment ministry is-sued a gazette notification on the"Green Factory Award Policy" as thecountry looks to attain the SustainableDevelopment Goals, which require ur-gent actions to combat climate changeand its impacts by regulating emissions.

The award will be presented to the enti-ties considering the use of eco-friendlyconstruction materials, access to sun-light, the use of solar power in the fac-tory, accommodation, schools, marketsand bus stands for the workers withinacceptable distances from the factory,adequate free space on the factorypremises, and the firefighting system.

Besides, the use of modern technologieswill also be taken into account whilepicking the winners.

"Through the award, we want to encour-age the factory owners to maintain com-pliances," said Md Rezaul Haque, anadditional secretary of the labor and em-ployment ministry.

"I hope the award will help increase theproductivity of factories and ensureworkplace safety for the workers."

An evaluation committee will initiallysubmit a proposal or recommendationto the core committee of the ministry forscrutiny of the number of awards to begiven in each sector.

A total of 30 awards will be given to var-ious sectors, with the highest fiveawards for a single industry.

The government approved the policy ata time when the garment sector hasabout 34 platinum-rated Leadership inEnergy and Environmental Design(LEED) green garment factories, certifiedby the US Green Building Council.

Govt to Introduce GreenFactory Award

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The government has dropped a plan toset up renewable power projects in Kap-tai and Mahamaya lakes on considera-tion of environmental risks.

Wildlife and ecosystem of the lakesmight be put at risk if the projects wereimplemented on the sites selected byAsian Development Bank (ADB).

Despite cancellation of the sites, thegovernment has selected two aban-doned peat lakes at Barapukuria coalmine for setting up renewable powerplants, power division officials con-firmed.

The ADB has proposed to Bangladeshfor funding renewable energy projectunder ‘ADB Mission (KSTA-9628): Ca-pacity Development for Renewable En-ergy Investment Programming andImplementation’ last year.

The ADB has already conducted feasi-bility study on Kaptai and Mahamayalakes in Chattogram, Joydia baor inJhenidah and Bukbhara baor in Jashoreunder the scope of this project and sub-mitted the reports to SREDA in Februarythis year.

In the report, ADB has concluded thatall four sites were found to be econom-ically and financially viable for imple-menting floating solar power plants.

Afterwards, SREADA spotted two aban-doned peat lakes having areas of 109 acresand 95 acres respectively, owned by Bara-pukuria Coal Mining Company Ltd.

The coal mine authorities have alreadygiven consent to conducting the feasibil-ity study on the site, official said.

After approval, the consultant team ofADB has visited the Barapukuria site lastmonth.

Govt Drops RenewablePower Projects

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The Cabinet Committee on PublicPurchase recently approved eight

procurement proposals, including set-ting up of a 42.5MW waste to energypower project in Dhaka.

The power project will be implementedunder a tripartite agreement whereDhaka North City Corporation (DNCC)will supply a certain quantity of solidmunicipal waste and lands.

China Machinery Engineering Corpora-tion (CMEC) will set up the plant on abuild-own-operate basis. Meanwhile,Bangladesh Power Development Board(BPDB) will purchase electricity for a25-year period at US $21.78 cents(equivalent to Tk 18.295) per unit.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamalpresided over the meeting which was at-tended by the members of the commit-tee, mainly senior ministers.

While briefing the media, Cabinet Divi-sion’s Additional Secretary Dr Abu Salehsaid the government has to spend Tk15,325.43 crore to buy electricity fromthe project over a period of 25 years.

Recently, the Power Secretary has notedthat a similar project is now being im-plemented in Narayanganj in collabora-tion with the Narayanganj CityCorporation, which will generate 6MW.

The officials said the Chinese firm wasselected as the sponsor under an unso-licited process, which will set up theplant at Amin Bazar on incineration-based technology.

The place is now being used by DNCC asa dumping station for its municipal waste.

Heat generated from burning the solidwaste will be used to produce power,officials said, adding that such projectsare already available in China and manyother Asian countries.

Several initiatives were previously taken togenerate power from solid waste in the last20 years, but none was implemented.

Cabinet PurchaseBody Nods 42.5MW

Waste to EnergyPower Project

China Machinery Engineering Corpo-ration recently awarded with the

deal of establishing a waste-based powerplant for Dhaka North City Corporation.

A meeting of the cabinet committee of

the national purchases chaired by fi-nance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal ap-proved a proposal from the powerdivision in this connection.

Additional secretary Abu Saleh MostafaKamal of the cabinet divi-sion said that per unitpower from the 42.5megawatt plant would costTk 18.295/kWh.

He said that Tk 15,325crore will be required forpurchasing power for 25years.

The power plant will be setup at Amin Bazar in Savar.

Chinese Company to Set UpWaste-Based Power Plant in Dhaka

Entrepreneurs engaged in renewableenergy business have failed to tap Tk

400 crore fund of Bangladesh Bank(BB).

The money was dedicated for greenbusiness financing. This is an incremen-tal fund like Export Development Fund.

The fund now stands at $1.5bn but it isnot lucrative for entrepreneurs as BB'smonetary policy is a big challenge here,experts observed.

BB launched the project with an initialfund of over $200m to promote exports.Later it introduced renewable energyproject fund with cheaper interest rate.

At the initial stage BB took 5 percentcharges from the commercial bank.Commercial banks disbursed the moneyadding 4 to 5 percent interest to it, saidSustainable and Renewable Energy De-velopment Authority Chairman Moham-mad Alauddin said recently.

Commercial banks imposed 4 to 5 per-cent interest as 'risk recovery', 'opera-tional cost' and 'recovery' interest. Alltogether clients had to pay 9 to 10 per-

cent interest against their loan package,he said.

The new monetary policy has slashedthe interest rate. It was not from BB'send but from commercial banks' end, hesaid.

As per the new monetary policy BB's in-terest rate will remain the same (5 per-cent) as before. If the BB reduces therate from its end it will be helpful for en-trepreneurs," a senior official of PowerDivision told this correspondent.

The announcement of launching a'green fund' came in response to recom-mendations given by experts and entre-preneurs at the 'Access toFinance-Environmental Sustainability inthe Textiles Sector' in 2015.

International Finance Corporation,Asian Development Bank (ADB),IDCOL and some others institutionscame forward to inject money here.Some entrepreneurs are using the En-ergy Efficiency Fund but the RenewableEnergy Fun has remained almost unuti-lized.

Renewable Energy Fund of No Use

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Gasum has completed the moderniza-tion of its biogas plant in Turku, Finland,which has now become the country’sfirst to produce bio-LNG for transport,industrial and maritime needs.

The expansion of the Turku biogas plantwas one of the Sipilä’s Finnish Govern-ment key projects, Bioeconomy andclean solutions, the objective of whichis to increase in a sustainable way theshare of renewable energy of the energyused in Finland by, in particular, improv-ing its availability.

The plant will process around 130,000tons of biomass a year, to producearound 60 GWh of bio-LNG a year,which corresponds to the annual fuelconsumption of 125 heavy-duty vehi-cles or 5,000 cars.

It will also produce around 4,000 tonsof ammonia water for use as a recyclednutrient. This plant promotes the realiza-tion of the circular economy and the de-velopment of the gas market in theTurku region.

“We’re one of the few companies in theNordic countries to be able to provideindustrial scale biogas production anddistribution. Gasum is continuously in-vesting in biogas plants and increasingthe performance of our existing ones.Demand for biogas is growing in all seg-ments and we are constantly pursuingnew opportunities to increase produc-tion capacity. We are investing in thedevelopment of our plants so that wecan take the circular economy even fur-ther. Demand for recycled nutrients isalso showing development in differentindustrial sectors. Our Turku plant is asuperb example of the realization of thecircular economy,” said Johan GrönVice President, Biogas, Gasum.

Finland’s First LiquefiedBiogas Produc�on Plant

Starts Opera�ons

Iwatani Corporation of America, awholly owned subsidiary of Iwatani

Corporation, and Toyota Motor NorthAmerica jointly announced that Toyotawill support Iwatani’s plans to signifi-cantly expand the number of open retailhydrogen fueling stations by nearly 25%in Southern California, which representsan increase of 6,300 kilograms per dayof hydrogen fuel dispensing capacity.

Construction of seven new stations isanticipated to commence in early 2021,followed by commissioning of the firststations by midyear.

The seven new retail stations will beopen to the public and will deploy thelatest H2Station(TM) hydrogen fuel dis-

pensing technology providedby Nel Hydrogen. Each facilitywill have two fueling positionsand each will be capable ofsupplying up to 900 kilogramsof hydrogen per day.

This expansion is Iwatani’s largest singleinvestment to date in California and willbring the company’s total global hydro-gen station network to 64.

“Iwatani is truly privileged to collabo-rate with Toyota and Nel Hydrogen, twoleaders in the Hydrogen Society, tobring world-class, hydrogen refuelingtechnology to the California mobilitymarket. The seven new stations in Cali-fornia are the latest demonstration of ourcommitment to investing in California’slight and heavy-duty hydrogen infra-structure and to create new jobs in thestate,” said Joseph S. Cappello, CEO ofIwatani Corporation of America.

Hydrogen Sta�on Networkto Grow by Nearly 25% in

Southern California

ASEAN countries have laid an aspira-tional five-year sustainability plan to

improve the renewable energy (RE) ca-pacity in the power mix to 35% toachieve the target of 23% of RE in thetotal primary energy supply by 2025.

The renewables (including hydro) underthis vision can witness a new capacitybuild of approximately 35-40GW by2025. This plan will help the countriesto reduce their pollution level and reachcloser to their sustainable and de-car-bonization target, says GlobalData, aleading data and analytics company.

Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines,Malaysia and Indonesia, represent ashare of about 84% of the total installedRE capacity among the ASEAN countries.

Vietnam leads the sustainability changewith 34% share, followed by Thailand

(17%), Indonesia (13%), Malaysia(10%) and the Philippines (10%).By the end of 2019, the share ofRE sources (including hydro) was29% with respect to the total REcumulative installed capacity inthe ASEAN region.

Ankit Mathur, Practice Head ofPower at GlobalData, says:“Countries like Vietnam, the

Phillippines and Indonesia are expectedto lead the charge of RE installations inthe region during 2020-2025. Vietnamis anticipated to lead the pack with over13GW of the installations in the region.Solar PV and hydropower are expectedto support the majority of this renew-able-led transition with around 70%share of the new RE capacity build be-tween 2020-2025. Following the aboveis wind with around 17% share andbiopower with around 11%.”

The implementation of the renew-ables, mainly solar PV and wind,has caught the interest of severalcountries, subsequent to the lowcost of installation bringing downthe grid parity at a competitive levelwith other low cost power genera-tion technologies.

RE Key to Achieve ASEAN AspirationalSustainability Roadmap by 2025: GlobalData

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36

Climate

December 1, 2020

Bangladeshi childrensounded the alarm on cli-

mate change, and called forurgent action on November 20at a historic Children’s ClimateSummit.

The Summit culminated in theadoption of a Children’s Cli-mate Declaration, which waspresented to national leadersin the spirit of intergenera-tional solidarity.

In the Declaration, the chil-dren call for decision makersto reduce pollution and green-house gas emissions; to investin education, training and agreen economy; and to protectchildren against the impacts ofclimate change.

Over 1 million children wereengaged in preparations forthe Children’s Climate Summitas part of the UNICEF Genera-tion Parliament digital plat-form, which connects childrento policies and decisions thatimpact their future. The virtualSummit, hosted by UNICEF,brought together 300 “childparliamentarians” representingall constituencies inBangladesh to debate climateissues, policies, and actions tosafeguard their future.

“Our country is on the frontline of climate change. Sealevel rise, erosion, pollutionand extreme weather jeopard-ize our survival, wellbeing andfuture. Children must be con-sulted on policies and deci-sions that impact our future.There is no time to lose,” saidRidwana Islam (15), a ChildParliamentarian from Dhaka.

“The climate emergency re-quires bold leadership as webattle against the clock. Wemust look to children andyoung people for inspiration,courage and vision. UNICEFworks to facilitate Bangladeshichildren to be part of a societaldecision-making process onclimate change-related issuesas they directly impact their fu-ture,” said Tomoo Hozumi,UNICEF Representative inBangladesh.

The Summit was chaired byMr. Shamsul Hoque Tuku,Member of Parliament (MP)and President of the Parlia-mentary Caucus on ChildRights, and was attendedby child climate activists,parliamentarians and cli-

mate stakehold-ers from acrossB a n g l a d e s h ,a s w e l l a s b yt h e G o v e r n -m e n t , c i v i ls o c i e t y a n dt h e d e v e l o p -m e n t c o m m u -n i t y.

Bangladeshi Children Call for ClimateAc�on on World Children’s Day

The High Court recently ob-served that the present air

pollution level in Dhaka is veryalarming for all and the people'sright to life, one of their funda-mental rights, might be com-promised if the pollution couldnot be controlled right now.

The court ordered the author-ities concerned to implementits January 13 directives andsubmit a report to it in 30 daysafter complying with the di-rectives.

The HC bench of Justice MdAshfaqul Islam and JusticeMohammad Ali came up withthe observation and orderafter clippings of some news-paper reports on air pollutionin Dhaka were placed beforeit during the hearing on a writpetition.

On January 13, another HCbench issued some directivesto the government to reduceair pollution in and aroundthe capital and also orderedthe Department of Environ-ment to shut the rest of the il-

legal brick kilns in five dis-tricts, including Dhaka.

During hearing of the samewrit petition filed by HumanRights and Peace forBangladesh (HRPB), the HCbench, led by Justice FRMNazmul Ahasan, had askedthe authorities to seize thosevehicles which were emittingblack smoke beyond permis-sible limit in Dhaka city.

The court in its directives hadsaid appropriate steps shouldbe taken to stop burning oftyres and recycling of vehi-cles' batteries without the ap-proval from the DoE.

It asked the authorities to takesteps to ensure that all marketowners or shopkeepers keeptheir daily waste in a safetrash bin. The waste must bedumped in the designatedareas before the closure ofshops or markets.

The HC bench banned plyingof particular vehicles, whoseeconomic life has expired, onroads in the capital.

Air Pollu�on in Dhaka VeryAlarming: HC

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Even if humanity stoppedemitting greenhouse gases

tomorrow, Earth will warm forcenturies to come and oceanswill rise by meters, accordingto a controversial modellingstudy published recently.

Natural drivers of globalwarming–more heat-trap-ping clouds, thawing per-mafrost, and shrinking seaice–already set in motion bycarbon pollution will take ontheir own momentum, re-

Global Warming to Con�nue No Ma¨erWhat We Do

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searchers from Norway re-ported in the Nature journalScientific Reports.

“According to our models,humanity is beyond thepoint-of-no-return when itcomes to halting the melting

of permafrost using green-house gas cuts as the singletool,” sad lead author JorgenRanders, a professor emeritusof climate strategy at the BINorwegian Business School.

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Secretary of Environment,Forests and Climate

Change Ministry Ziaul Hasanrecently said the main goal ofthe officials and employeesof the ministry should be towork for the protection of thecountry’s environment.

At the same time, he said,everyone should pay attentionto the development of the of-fice’s working environmentthrough mutual cooperation.

Ziaul Hasan was speaking asthe chief guest at the certifi-cate distribution ceremony ofa two-week training programon skills development of staffat the meeting room of theministry here.

He said the government em-

ployees need todevelop theirskills through reg-ular training andstudy, and makethemselves com-petent.

“We’ve tochange the tradi-tional attitudeand always workwith the mental-ity of service.We’ve to provide

services to the people in atimely manner,” the environ-ment secretary said.

To this end, he said, the ac-quired knowledge should beproperly applied in the career.“Inspired by self-confidenceand patriotism, we all have towork together for the develop-ment of the country’s overallenvironment,” he added.

Additional Secretary (Admin-istration) of the ministry DrMd Billal Hossain, AdditionalSecretary (Environment)Mahmud Hasan, AdditionalSecretary (EnvironmentalPollution Control) MdMoniruzzaman also spokeon the occasion.

‘Saving Environmentis Our Key Goal’

Total (NYSE: TOT) has re-vealed that it has signed

an agreement with the AbuDhabi National Oil Com-pany (ADNOC) to explorejoint research, developmentand deployment partnershipopportunities in the areas ofCO2 emission reductionsand carbon capture, utiliza-tion and storage (CCUS).

The agreement brings to-gether the best-in-class inlow carbon technologiesfrom Total and ADNOC andexpands on the long-standingpartnership and collabora-tion between the two leadingenergy producers across thefull value chain, Total said ina statement posted on itswebsite recently.

Under the termsof the deal,Total andADNOC will

jointly explore opportunitiesto reduce CO2 emissions, im-prove energy efficiency andthe use of renewable energyfor oil and gas operations. Inthe area of CCUS the compa-nies will further develop jointresearch into new technolo-gies covering carbon capture,storage solutions and en-hanced oil recovery projectsbased on CO2 usage, accord-ing to Total.

“We are very pleased to startthis new cooperation withADNOC, our long-term part-ner in the United Arab Emi-rates,” Patrick Pouyanne, thechairman and chief execu-tive officer of Total, said in acompany statement.

Total and ADNOC Make CO2Emission Reduc�on Deal

37

Climate

December 1, 2020

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Greenhouse gases in the at-mosphere, the main driver

of climate change, hit recordhighs last year and have contin-ued climbing this year, despitemeasures to halt the pandemic,the UN said recently.

The World Meteorological Or-ganization (WMO) said lock-downs, border closures, flightgroundings and other measuresto rein in the coronavirus crisishad indeed cut emissions ofmany pollutants and greenhousegases like carbon dioxide.

But it warned the indus-trial slowdown due to thepandemic had notcurbed record concentra-tions of the greenhouse

gases that are trapping heat inthe atmosphere, raising tem-peratures, causing sea levelsto rise and driving more ex-treme weather.

“The lockdown-related fall inemissions is just a tiny blip onthe long-term graph,” WMOchief Petteri Taalas said in astatement. “We need a sus-tained flattening of the curve.”

The annual impact was ex-pected to be a drop of between4.2 and 7.5 percent, it said.

Greenhouse GasLevels at New High

The Climate Action Path-ways identify the near- and

long-term milestones for limit-ing the global temperature riseto 1.5°C above pre-industriallevels in the areas of energy,industry, transport, human set-tlements, ocean, water, landuse, and resilience.

The pathways were unveiledon the first day of the Race toZero Dialogues, which aim toexplore ways to drive the sys-tems’ transformations neededto mitigate climate change andbuild resilience to its impacts.

The Marrakech Partnershippublished a report that out-lines pathways for climate ac-tion across eight key sectors toachieve the Paris Agreementon climate change. The reportfinds that rapid breakthroughsin the areas of energy, industry,transport, human settlements,ocean and coastal zones,

water, nature-based solutionsand land use, and climate re-silience are approaching “thetipping points necessary toreach zero emissions by2050.”

The ‘Climate Action Pathways’seek to provide a “blueprint” tocoordinate climate action bycities, regions, businesses, andinvestors in the runup to theGlasgow Climate Change Con-ference in November 2021.

The pathways identify thenear- and long-term mile-stones for limiting the globaltemperature rise to 1.5°Cabove pre-industrial levels ineach of the eight sectors con-sidered. They provide anoverview of “synergies and in-terlinkages across the thematicand cross-cutting areas that as-sist all actors to take an inte-grated approach.”

UNFCCC Partnership Outlines SectoralVisions for Net-zero World

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39

Climate

December 1, 2020

IDCOL, as the Direct AccessEntity (DAE) of Green Cli-

mate Fund (GCF), receivedapproval of its first fundingproposal for the program ti-tled “Promoting private sec-tor investment through largescale adoption of energy sav-ing technologies and equip-ment for Textile andReadymade Garment (RMG)sectors of Bangladesh”.

The program was approvedin GCF Board Meeting-B.27held on 10th November,2020. This is the first conces-sional GCF credit line forBangladesh, as well as thefirst private sector financingof GCF in the country.

So far, it is also the largest ap-proved funding proposal forany Direct Access Entity(DAE) of GCF, accreditedglobally.

Presently, the industrial sectorin Bangladesh accounts for47.8%of the commercial en-ergy consumption. Amongthis textile and RMG ac-counts for approximately38% of the total energy con-sumption in the industrialsector (source- Energy Effi-ciency and ConservationMaster Plan up to 2030 bySREDA, Power Division).

The Energy Efficiency andConservation Master Plan2015 states that manufactur-ing industries in Bangladeshare not efficient in energy usebecause of continuous usageof old/mal-maintained ma-chines and poor energy man-agement. Major challenges inadoption of energy efficienttechnology are inadequate fi-nancial incentives and lackof technical expertise.

The objective of the ap-proved program is to provideconcessional loans from GCFto finance energy savingtechnology and equipmentfor the textile & RMG sectorsof Bangladesh in order tomake it more affordable andaccessible.

Under the program, IDCOLwill receive from GCF USD250 million concessionalloan for a tenor of 20 yearswith a grace period of 5 yearsfor financing energy efficientequipment. In addition tothis, IDCOL will also receiveUSD 6.50 million as Techni-cal Assistance (Grant) to de-velop enabling environmentby covering areas such as ca-pacity building, awareness,support in loan disbursal andmonitoring and evaluation ofthe program parameters.

Sustainable & Renewable En-ergy Development Authority(SREDA) is also implementinga component of the programto strengthen regulatory & in-stitutional framework at thenational level to overcome theoperational constraints relatedto implementing EE&C in thecountry.

Out of USD 250 million loan,USD 100 million will be uti-lized by IDCOL to financetextile sector energy effi-ciency projects, while USD150 million loan will bechanneled to four local finan-cial institutions for financingenergy efficiency projects inthe RMG sector.

The total program size will beUSD 423.50 million includ-ing co-financing fromIDCOL, local financiers andthe project sponsors.

IDCOL Gets $250m Loanfrom GCF

Arcola Energy, a leading spe-cialist in hydrogen and fuel

cell systems integration, has de-veloped a proprietary hydrogenfuel cell (HFC) powertrain plat-form, designed for vehicle appli-cations requiring high-duty cyclecapabilities and fast refueling.

The A-Drive platform offers apowerful drop-in zero-emissionreplacement for diesel-basedpowertrains and is scalable fora range of heavy-duty fleets,trucks, municipal operationsand public transport applica-tions, including buses andtrains. The platform is the basisof a range of vehicles Arcola isbringing to market from 2021.

Representing more than 20 per-cent of Europe’s on-road CO2emissions, decarbonising heavy-duty vehicles is critical to meetfast-approaching legislation and

low carbon transport strategies.

Capable of delivering signifi-cantly greater operational rangeand payload capabilities, hy-drogen fuel cells are emergingas a more practical option thanpure battery electric solutionsfor vehicles required to pullheavy loads and cover largedistances.

“Combining an efficient electricpowertrain with the high energydensity of hydrogen, Arcola’sHFC A-Drive platform readily de-livers twice the practical range ofbattery-only solutions. This en-ables fleets to work a full day ofheavy-duty service on just one10-minute hydrogen fill,” said DrBen Todd, CEO of Arcola Energy.“The A-Drive platform deliversthe integration required to realizethese benefits quickly in realworld applications.”

Arcola Energy Introduces Produc�on-ReadyHydrogen Fuel Cell Powertrain Pla«orm

Sustainable Energy for ALL(SEforALL) has made the de-

cision to reschedule the SE-forALL Forum in Kigali,Rwanda with a view towardsholding an in-person Forum in2022.

This decision has been taken inconsideration of the COVID-19situation and is a result of in-depth discussions regarding theformat and desired outcomes ofthe Forum with our host, theGovernment of Rwanda, theSEforALL Administrative Boardand key partners.

In the meantime, SEforALL looksforward to opportunities with ourpartners throughout 2021 todrive action on SDG7, includingthrough the High-Level Dialogueon Energy and COP26 andbuilding momentum towards anin-person SEforALL Forum inRwanda in 2022. Stay tuned formore information about the

launch of an SEforALL globalcampaign and the first-ever SE-forALL Virtual Youth Summit inFebruary 2021.

The SEforALL Forum is recog-nized for providing a uniqueopportunity for the globalcommunity to come togetherto advance progress towardsthe achievement of SustainableDevelopment Goal 7 (SDG7).

Networking, forming partner-ships and impromptu dia-logues are important aspects ofthe in-person Forum experi-ence. With the COVID-19pandemic continuing to havean impact globally and ex-pected to do so through muchof 2021, most events will likelyremain virtual.

To ensure the full Forum expe-rience, the SEforALL Forumwill be rescheduled to takeplace in early 2022.

SEforAll Forum in KigaliRescheduled for 2022

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Bangladesh has some 30-40 largeconstruction companies that canlead and deliver mega projects of

any size and complexity. But they gethardly any domestic preference in ob-taining contracts of mega projects dueto policy limitations. Domestic prefer-ence means the local bidders will get 7-7.5 percent price preference over theforeign ones. It might sound unrealistic,but it is neither unrealistic nor unethicalas these provisions are often kept in theguidelines of ADB, JICA, FIDIC, WorldBank, etc. India is practicing this for along period of time and their companiesgrew remarkably, leading their own de-velopment activities as well as capturingforeign contracts. But, unfortunately,most of the key development projects inBangladesh are being captured by for-eign companies especially from Chinaand India. The policy and fiscal con-straints are keeping the local contractorsaway from getting the works while de-priving all the local resources like ma-terials and manpower of the projectbenefit. The economy is losing as a con-sequence.

MAX Group Chairman Engr. GhulamMohammed Alomgir made the observa-tion in an exclusive interview with En-ergy & Power Editor Mollah AmzadHossain.

Bangladesh is stepping into its 50years soon. During this long jour-ney, the country has been successfulin developing different sectors, but

the local resources (materials, skillsand organizations) could not befully utilized in the developmentprojects of the country. What do youthink is the problem of utilizing thelocal resources?

Since its independence, the country hadto struggle a lot to reach this stage. Wehave developed all the major sectorssuch as health, education, agriculture,IT, women empowerment, child mortal-ity, etc. However, development is un-precedented in the infrastructuresegment that includes power, transmis-sion line, roads and highways, bridgeand flyovers, etc. Most of the economicindices like GDP and so on that repre-sent the development of a country havesignificantly improved. In terms ofgrowth, we have already exceeded Pak-istan and now we are looking forwardto overtaking India and all other neigh-boring countries.

In response to your question, I think, thisis mainly because the policy and poli-cymakers so far didn’t realize the impor-tance of building local skills, localresources, domestic capacities, etc. Thecapacity of our local resources are notprogressing at the expected pace. But Imust say it’s not too late yet. In the last10 years, our country has grown at afaster rate and this trend is expected togo on. However, it is high time to realizeand change the policies and regulationsin a manner that the local resources (or-ganizations, industries, skills, materials,

etc.) can be fully utilized. Only by doingso, the country’s development will besustainable. Apparently, it is very pleas-ing to see so many technical and voca-tional institutions to train our youths, butin reality everything takes place in thoseinstitutions except training and educa-tion. There is no strong policy to buildour youths technically sound so thatthey can lead our development activi-ties as the front-liners. Thousands oflabor are sent to foreign countries everyyear without any professional training.Institutions can be developed where allthe outgoing workers will receive

Ghulam Mohammed Alomgir

Mainly because the policy andpolicymakers so far didn’t realize theimportance of building local skills,

local resources, domestic capacities,etc. The capacity of our local resources

are not progressing at the expectedpace. But I must say it’s not too late yet.

In the last 10 years, our country hasgrown at a faster rate and this trend is

expected to go on.

Construc�on Companies:A Perfect Example of a

‘Motherless Child’

40

Interview

December 1, 2020

mandatory training so that they can earn2-3 times more and, therefore, can con-tribute to the country. Moreover, weneed huge skilled manpower to carryout the development initiatives taken bythe government, and for that, there areno alternatives to build the capacities ofour human resources starting from semior unskilled laborers to top-notch man-agement officials. As we all are talkingabout sustainable development, we sim-ply can’t just depend on foreign compa-nies especially from India and China tolead our development activities andtake the lion’s share of the budget totheir country. It is not at all feasible todeploy so many foreign workers andprofessionals having remuneration rang-ing from $5,000-10,000 per month inour development initiatives whereas wehave got so many ready to deploy pop-ulation within the country. So, policy-makers should seriously start thinkingabout addressing these issues.

There are around 50 organizations,out of total 300-400 constructioncompanies in the country, which arecapable to construct big infrastruc-ture with maintaining internationalstandards. But they are gettinghardly any chance to take part in theongoing infrastructure projects.What do you think about utilizingthe capability of the local construc-tion companies?

The country has almost 100 construc-tion companies which can perform asignificant amount of works by them-selves. And we have at least 30-40 ca-pable large construction companies thatcan lead and deliver mega projects ofany size and complexity. But due to thepolicy, the local companies get hardlyany domestic preference. As a result,most of the key development works arebeing captured by foreign companiesespecially from China and India. Do-mestic preference means the local bid-ders will get 7%-7.5% price preferenceover the foreign ones. It might sound un-realistic but it is neither unrealistic norunethical as these provisions are oftenkept in the guidelines of ADB, JICA,FIDIC, World Bank, etc. India is practic-ing this for a long time. As a result, their

companies grew remarkably and nowleading their own development activi-ties as well as capturing foreign con-tracts. Unfortunately, in our country,nobody is thinking about the welfare ofthe local construction companies andthere is no visible initiative to protecttheir interest. Again, the appointment oflocal agents officially is another detri-mental practice that not only increasingthe cost of the projects but also creatingcertain rooms for corruption. Sometimes

these local agents of foreign companiesin cooperation with some corruptedgovernment officials, bureaucrats, andpoliticians, though their numbers arevery few, play a vital role in increasingthe value and completion time of thecontracts. So, to protect the interest ofour country and to ensure the best uti-lization of the general taxpayers’money,following should be considered:

a. The government should take somemeasures to limit the participation oflocal agents in the projects for thegreater interest of the country;

b. The development-friendly Hon’blePrime Minister can instruct all the min-istries and departments to introduce do-mestic preference for the localcompanies so that those can lead the

project implementation and earn theability to take our development to thenext stage; and

c. The government should take steps toenhance the skill sets of our engineers,workers, supervisors, quality controllers,and planners so that they can be en-gaged in our projects extensively andthe dependency on foreign counterpartsreduces significantly.

It is mandatory in many countries,including India, for the foreign con-tractors to take local partner in anyproject, but Bangladesh does nothave such policy support for thelocal companies. As a result, the for-eign contractors are bringing in withthem the materials and unskilledworkers as well as subcontractors.What do you suggest about comingout of it?

This is the saddest part and believe me,there are many countries that do notallow overseas companies to participatein the tenders funded by their own gov-ernment that is the GOB-funded proj-ects in the case of Bangladesh. This ishow they protect the interest of theircountry, their resources i.e. materials,contractors, and funds. However, in ourcountry, even some GOB projects aresometimes designed in a manner thatonly foreign companies can participatein the tenders. Recently, I’ve found someclauses in a tender document wherecompanies having overseas experienceare only eligible to participate as thelead partner where they will enjoy allthe signing and communication author-ity. Even the biggest construction com-panies in Bangladesh hardly have anyoverseas experience as we are now in adeveloping stage and we’ve just startedtaking projects on a small scale in over-seas countries. So, despite having all thecredentials and capabilities, the localcontractors are participating in tendersas a partner of foreign companies andare operating silently on a small scaleunder the command of overseas com-panies who probably have fewer capa-bilities than us. It is an irony that whenan overseas company participates in abid in Bangladesh, they often receiveclose patronization and support from

41December 1, 2020

I think the policy and poli­cymakers so far didn’t real­

ize the importance ofbuilding local skills, local

resources, domestic capaci­ties, etc. I must say it’s nottoo late yet. It is high timeto realize and change the

policies and regulations ina manner that the local re­

sources can be fully uti­lized. Only by doing so, thecountry’s development will

be sustainable.

their embassies whereas the local com-panies never receive such support intheir own country. We, the local con-struction companies, who love thiscountry more than anything, sincerelyhope that this hostile situation willchange soon through the direct inter-vention of the Prime Minister and wewill get our fair share in the upcomingprojects.

I also like to add that if the governmentwants the local companies to undertakeall the development activities after 5years, then it’s the high time the govern-ment should amend the policies in amanner where all the overseas compa-nies mandatorily need to take at leastone local company as their joint venturepartner if they meet the tender criteria.And, in the worst-case scenario, if nolocal company fulfills the tender re-quirement, at least there should be aprovision or clause that will enable thelocal companies to participate in thetender as a nominated subcontractor ofthe foreign companies so that they canwork in the projects with respect andhonor. Unless these provisions are initi-ated, the foreign companies will con-tinue bringing their employees andsubcontractors and our local companieswill always remain under their shadow,which in the long run, will hinder thesustainable development of the country.

It is open here for the foreign con-tractors to work alone in the projectsfinanced from the local resources.But due to tax anomalies, the localorganizations have to face unevencompetition with the foreign onestaking part in the tenders. As a localconstruction companies, did you(local construction companies) seekpolicy supports and intervention ofthe government?

I would request the decision makers thatthe GOB-funded projects should beonly opened for the local constructioncompanies where there will be nomandatory clause for taking joint ven-ture partners. And, if at least 3 compa-nies don’t match the qualificationcriteria, then it can be an internationalopen tender where foreign companiesmust have to take at least one local

company as their joint venture partner.Without these steps, the local compa-nies will never grow and learn to imple-ment critical mega projects.

Bangladesh has a vision to achievemid-income country status next year(2021) and developed economy sta-tus by 2041. Do you think it will bepossible achieving the target with-out appropriately utilizing the localcompetent contractors and skilled,unskilled manpower and locallyavailable construction materials?

Under the present dynamic leadership,I believe the vision can be achieved. Imust applaud the timely decision of thePrime Minister, who declared stimuluspackages right at the beginning of thepandemic and, due to the decision, thedevelopment works are progressingsmoothly. In terms of Max InfrastructureLimited, we are currently implementingat least 10 projects and out of those, 4are mega, fast-track projects. They are:

a. Construction of 18 KM Elevated Ex-pressway from Lalkhan Bazar to Sha-Amanat Airport in Chittagong City;

b. Construction of 102 KM New DualGauge Single Railway Line from Dohaz-ari to Cox’s Bazar via Ramu;

c. 6 lots in the country’s only ongoing2,400 MW Rooppur Nuclear PowerPlant Project as a specialized subcon-tractor of the main Russian contractorASE (valued more than Tk 4,000 crore;won through international bidding inMoscow); and

d. Construction of Dual Gauge DoubleRail line and Conversion of Existing Railline into Dual Gauge between Akhauraand Laksam.

When an overseas company gets a proj-ect in Bangladesh, they take away mostof the money to their country withoutany questions and tax barrier as most ofthe contracts are G2G or financed by in-ternational financing agencies. But if alocal company gets involved in a proj-ect, they face huge barriers to pay theirforeign advisors, consultants, etc. So,this is an example of a uneven compe-tition the local companies are experi-encing in their own country. Again in

terms of tax, Bangladeshi companies arebound to comply with all the tax regu-lations, whereas, the foreigners are tak-ing our money away without anydifficulty.

Simply put, patronizing Bangladeshicompanies to get the contracts will helpour country in a multidimensional way:

a. The profit will remain in the country;

b. Local resources will improve in anunprecedented manner; and

c. GDP will increase because themoney will be circulated among localemployees, contractors, subcontractors,product manufacturers, and suppliersetc.

So, to make the most out of the devel-opment initiatives, there is no other op-tion but protecting the interest of thecapable local companies.

In mega projects at Rooppur, Ram-pal and Payera, the EPC contractorsof the projects financed from inter-nal resources are working. Theyhave also brought with them sub-contractors from own countries.They have shown some interests forutilizing local materials. But, theyare also attaching many conditionsin their Request for Proposals (RFP),creating impediments for local con-struction companies’ participation.What can be done to address theseissues?

The answer is simple, when the rights ofthe local companies will be establishedin the projects by the employer, the for-eign companies won’t be able to imposesuch unethical barriers. Presently, for-eign companies are working in projectswith full authority and in many cases,they are deploying their preferred em-ployees and subcontractors there whoare nothing but their puppets. But if thelocal construction companies can prac-tice their rights up to a certain extent,the overseas contractors will think twicebefore imposing any unjust conditions.

There are claims that the projectsimplemented under own financingmust be exclusively preserved for

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local construction companies. Whatis your opinion?

I totally agree that if there is no specialtype of works are associated, the GOB-funded projects should be kept reservedfor local companies. In case of projectsworth Tk. 100.00 crore to 2000.00crore in sectors like roads and highwaysor railways, those should be exclusivelykept for local companies and there mustnot be any provision for foreign compa-nies to come and compete in those ten-ders. Unfortunately, that is nothappening now, and in GOB projects,more Chinese and Indian companiesare competing than the local compa-nies. These are our own taxpayers’money and these should be limited toonly local companies for the greater in-terest of our country.

Do you think local constructioncompanies are competent or capa-ble enough for implementing themega projects as the EPC contractoron stand-alone basis or as Joint Ven-ture partner of foreign contractor?

In terms of current projects that arebeing implemented in Bangladesh, localcompanies are capable to undertake atleast 80% of those works without thehelp of any foreign companies. In worstcase-scenario, some foreign personnellike, Project Manager, Planner Chief En-gineer, Chief Designer, etc. can be hiredif the project is ultra-critical. Further-more, projects like Padma MultipurposeBridge, Bangabandhu Sheikh MujibRailway Bridge over the Jamuna Riveretc. are a bit complicated, and foreignassistance is required there. So, thereshould be some mechanism so thatlocal companies can participate thereand learn from the foreign companiesthrough transfer of technologies.

In a recent digital seminar, organ-ized by Energy & Power Magazine,Prof Dr M Tamim pointed out thatthere is no option but to formulateenabling policies for letting localcontactors and local materials prop-erly utilized in infrastructure devel-opment projects. As owner of amajor local construction company,

what type of policy reforms youwould suggest?I was in that online seminar and Prof Dr.M Tamim pointed it out correctly. Mysuggestion is very clear and simple. Thetender itself has to protect the interest ofthe local companies. In the tender doc-ument, the domestic preference forlocal companies should be mentionedclearly. Additionally, a little bit of re-laxed qualification criteria might bethere in the tender document for thelocal participants. If this trend starts, inthe next five years, our local companieswill earn all the requisite qualificationsand they will no longer need any pref-erence. As the owner of a major localconstruction company, I am really strug-gling to establish that it is high time toprotect the local companies. Otherwise,they’ll be dropped out of competitionbecause of the Chinese, Indian andother overseas companies, because:

a. The interest rate in China, India andother countries is only 4%-5% as com-pared to 9% in our country;

b. China, India, etc. countries are al-ready rich and they want to create avacuum in our country for their futurebenefit. So, many companies from thesecountries are offering unrealistic pricesknowing that there will be no profit;

c. If our projects become so much de-pendent on the Chinese, Indians andother foreign country companies, verysoon they’ll demand unjust advantagesand the government will be bound tofulfill their demands as there will be nocompetitive local companies in thoseprojects.

Local construction companies arebeing disadvantaged in many differ-ent ways. How do you think, thelevel-playing field can be createdfor local companies?

Nobody can initiate it other than theHon’ble Prime Minister, Sheikh HasinaMP. I am sure, if someone explains theterrible consequences of the currentpractice to her properly, she will defi-nitely understand and pass an order tothe respective ministries and employersto include the befitting clauses in the fu-

ture tender documents to protect the in-terest of the local organizations. This isthe way how every country has priori-tized their local companies in theirhome country and now, they are enjoy-ing the sweet outcomes of that act. Un-less we act right now despite having somany resources, especially capablehuman resources, our growth will neverbe sustainable. We see the light of hopeas a few authorities have already startedthis practice in Bangladesh i.e. PGCB.While floating tenders, they are keepingprovisions for 15% domestic preferencefor local products i.e. steel tower, trans-formers etc. However, bringing the rawmaterials for those items are subjectedto 30%-40% tax, whereas foreign com-panies brought those free.

There are some gossips and rumorsthat some local companies, despitetheir bad performance have takenthe orders, and that created suffer-ings for the government’s develop-ment works. What is your commentabout that?

I am not advocating in favor of thosecompanies who do not know whatquality is, what the value of time con-straint is, and how to deliver qualityprojects timely as per the contract.Rather, I’m only talking in favor ofthose companies who understand thevalue of time and quality, and who un-derstand their responsibility towardsthe project that they have signed dur-ing the contract agreement. Thesecompanies should only be patronizedand sustained. There should be a clearinstruction that if any company takes somany jobs and fails to deliver the proj-ect as per the satisfaction of the em-ployer, they will be blacklisted ordebarred from participating in the fu-ture bidding. And there should be pro-visions for punishment also in thetendering system or in the circulars thatunderperforming companies will bedebarred or blacklisted from taking anyorders for the next one or two years. Bydoing so, nonperformers will get a mes-sage and warning that there is only oneway to survive, and that is by provingtheir performance.

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EP