MAN Energy Solutions to Provide Power to Bangladesh

MAN Energy Solutions is providing the generation technology for two power plants in Bangladesh. The newly-built plants are in the districts of Thakurgaon and Narayanganj and, upon entering operation, will eventually house multiple MAN 18V48/60TS engines, feeding a total of 170 MW into the national grid.

The first plant – in the Thakurgaon district in the north-west of the country – will be driven by 6 × MAN 18V48/60TS engines delivering a total output of around 125 MW. Energypac Power Generation Ltd, with headquarters in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, is operating the facility whose difficult-to-access location on the border with India has presented tough, logistical demands during the construction project as the region can only be reached overland. Since local road conditions did not allow for the large engines – each weighing 320 tonnes – to be transported by truck, they were accordingly dismantled into individual parts and delivered to the Thakurgaon plant for on-site assembly.

Waldemar Wiesner, Head of Region MEA (Middle-East Africa), Power Plant Sales, at MAN Energy Solutions, said: "For our team in Bangladesh, assembling the engines on-site has been a particular challenge and placed the highest demands on precise project management. However, our flexibility when it comes to project management means that we can guarantee energy supplies – even in hard-to-reach regions across the world."

Stable energy supply forms basis for economic growth

The second plant in Narayanganj, operated by KPPGL (Kanchan Purbachal Power Generation Ltd), is located 30 kilometers to the south of Dhaka and will in time operate with 3 × MAN 18V48/60TS engines. Thanks to a total power output of 58 MW, the engines will ensure the power supply to Narayanganj, a city with over one million inhabitants.

"With an average growth rate of around 7% in recent years, Bangladesh is one of the fastest-growing national economies in the world," said Wiesner. "Maintaining this growth rate demands a guaranteed supply of energy and we are proud to be a reliable energy-sector partner in this rapidly developing country."