ENHANCEMENT AND STRENGTHENING OF POWER
                                                                                       TRANSMISSION NETWORK IN EASTERN REGION PROJECT




                                                                                                                         BRINGING
                                                                                                                   UNINTERRUPTED
                                                                                                                 POWER SUPPLY TO
                                                                                                                        THE EAST

                                                   APPROVAL DATE:            END DATE:             TOTAL COMMITMENT:               IMPLEMENTING AGENCIES:
        BASIC
        INFORMATION
                                                   March 29                  December 31           $450.6 million                  Power Grid Company of
                                                   2018                      2022                                                  Bangladesh (PGCB)



     OVERVIEW
     The lack of availability and reliability of power is a key constraint to job creation and poverty reduction, hampering the competitiveness of Bangladesh’s economy. The
     supply of power in has not been able to keep pace with the rapid growth in demand. The consumers experience frequent power outages. In addition to shortfalls in power
     generation, Bangladesh’s aging and inadequate transmission and distribution systems impose severe constraints on power delivery to consumers.

     The Enhancement and Strengthening of Power Transmission Network in Eastern Region Project will improve transmission capacity and ensure efficient evacuation of
     power for reliable electricity supply in the eastern region, which is an important economic and industrial hub. The project will help development of a strategy and roadmap
     for maintenance of the implementing agency and support them to access local and international financial markets. Furthermore, the technical designs will incorporate
     features to enhance climate resilience of the transmission lines. About 275,000 households and 16,000 agricultural consumers will get new electricity connection. Further,
     project would generate a total employment for about 121,500 persons.


32
CHALLENGE                                                                                                                    TOWARDS THE FUTURE
In recent years, the government has significantly increased power generation. But, only investing in power generation        Network investments under this project are
is not sufficient, unless that is supported by improvement in transmission and distribution. To ensure reliable              expected to maximize leverage of public
and quality electricity supply for increasing numbers of consumers connected to the grid, it is critical to address          finance by unlocking private sector growth
transmission system bottlenecks. The network is currently under pressure due to the rapid growth of demand for               and bringing a transformational economic
electricity. A considerable number of grid substations and transmission lines are overloaded leading to unreliable           impact in the eastern region. The project is
electricity supply in major load centers. The system also faces growing physical constraints to expand due to lack of        also expected to enable imported electricity
Right of Way for the lines and land for substations in densely populated areas. Bangladesh’s growing power system will       after the establishment of an HVDC
require wheeling of 50GW capacity through the transmission network by 2041. But, investments in power generation             interconnection at Comilla with Tripura by
will not have the intended benefits to consumers without an adequate and timely upgrade of electricity transmission          importing 500MW of power.
and distribution systems.



APPROACH
By using IDA scale-up facility, the project will expand the network in the eastern region, covering the Greater
Comilla, Noakhali and partly the Greater Chittagong area. Grid networks in this region are aged and have low
capacity. The Greater Comilla region has more than 1000 people per square km. Comilla and Noakhali together
are the second largest load centers of Bangladesh after the capital city of Dhaka. The Greater Chittagong area is
a major commercial and industrial hub with the Government, taking initiatives to set up multiple economic
zones, upgrade port facility and transportation network. Due to lack of electricity supply capacity,
economic growth of this area is stagnant. A network analysis by Power Grid Company of Bangladesh
(PGCB) identified operational bottlenecks. The project will build substations and rehabilitate an
existing one in the country’s eastern part. To improve transmission capacity the eastern region,
the project will build 13 new substations and rehabilitate an existing one and build a 230 kV
transmission line through greater Comilla and four short distance 132 kV lines in Comilla and
Noakhali areas. These will help integrate renewable energy and new generations into the grid.




   EXPECTED RESULTS


157 km existing            13 new substations               Increase in transformation             Reduce average interruption          290 km new transmission
transmission lines         constructed and 1                capacity by 9,040 MVA                  frequency by 70 times per year       lines constructed
rehabilitated              rehabiliated

                                                                                                                                THE WORLD BANK IN BANGLADESH           |    33