3rd unit of Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant resumes operation

After being shut down for six months and 20 days, the third unit of the 275 MW capacity of the Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant in Dinajpur resumed production on Wednesday (May 20) afternoon. Currently, 100 MW of electricity is being added to the national grid from this unit.

Abu Bakar Siddique, the chief engineer of the plant, said that the third unit has been started from 5:46 pm. He expects that 250 to 260 MW of electricity will be generated in this unit from Thursday (May 21). With another 55 MW from the first unit, an average of 300 MW of electricity will be added to the national grid. He said that this will reduce load shedding. A total of 3,200 tonnes of coal will be required daily to keep the two units running.

Earlier, the third unit was shut down due to mechanical failure since the last week of October 2025. The second unit of 125 MW has been shut down since 2020. Only the first unit was operational.

This 525 MW coal-fired power plant, relying on coal from the Barapukuria mine, started its journey in 2006. Initially, it started with two units of 125 MW, but in 2017, a third unit of 275 MW was added, bringing the total generation capacity to 525 MW.

However, due to various complications, the plant was never able to generate electricity at its maximum capacity by running all three units simultaneously.

Abu Bakar Siddiqu also said that discussions are underway with a Chinese contractor to repair the second unit. He expressed hope that it will also be possible to start it soon.