Third unit of Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant commissioned after month
Mahidul Islam Ripon, Dinajpur
After being closed for a month, the third unit of the largest 275 MW coal-fired thermal power plant in Dinajpur has been commissioned.
Abu Bakar Siddique, chief engineer of the Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant, confirmed the matter.
Earlier, the third unit was commissioned at 9:32 pm on Tuesday. Currently, 250 megawatts of electricity is being generated from that unit and added to the national grid. Earlier, production was completely stopped on May 25 due to mechanical failure.
The matter was confirmed by Abu Bakar Siddique, chief engineer of the Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant. The authorities of the thermal power plant say that currently 250 megawatts from unit number three and 50 megawatts from unit number one, a total of 300 megawatts of electricity are being generated and connected to the national grid.
According to relevant sources, the 125 MW second unit of the Barapukuria coal-fired thermal power plant has been closed since 2020. The third unit of the thermal power plant, which has the largest capacity of 275 MW, was shut down due to mechanical failure since the last week of October 2025. Although the unit was restarted on the afternoon of May 20 after about seven months of renovation, the unit's mechanical parts broke down just five days after the start of production. As a result, production was completely stopped on May 25. Only the first unit of 125 MW was operational. From which 50 MW of electricity is generated daily. After a month-long renovation work, the third unit was launched at 9:32 pm on Tuesday (June 23). The renovation of the third unit cost 4.2 million US dollars, which is equivalent to about 515.6 million taka in Bangladeshi currency. Currently, a total of 300 MW of electricity, including 250 MW from Unit 3 and 50 MW from Unit 1, is being generated and connected to the national grid.
According to sources, the Chinese company Harbin International is in charge of operating the power plant using coal extracted from the Barapukuria coal mine. According to the agreement, they are also responsible for the maintenance, repair and supply of necessary spare parts of the plant. However, questions have been raised about whether these responsibilities are being fulfilled properly.
Abu Bakar Siddique, Chief Engineer of Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant, said that the third unit has been commissioned from 9:32 pm on Tuesday (June 23). Currently, 250 megawatts of electricity are being generated from this unit and are being connected to the national grid. At the same time, unit number one with a capacity of 125 megawatts is operational, from which 50 megawatts of electricity are being generated. Currently, an average of 300 megawatts of electricity are being generated and connected to the national grid. This will reduce load shedding to a large extent.
