The Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) has commissioned the 400 kV Payra–Gopalganj–Aminbazar transmission line running across the Padma river.
The line connecting Gopalganj and Aminbazar grid substations is 82.5-km long, including a 7.5-km stretch over the Padma River. The government initially started implementing the project in 2016. But the project got delayed as the work of installing towers in the river had to be suspended until completion of Padma Bridge’s construction. The line will facilitate electricity transmission from two large power plants – the 1,320 MW Payra and the 1,320 MW Rampal power plants, in the country’s southern region to the capital. The Payra power plant with two units of 620 MW capacity each, set up in a joint venture (JV) with China National Machinery Import & Export Corporation, has already been commissioned. The Rampal power plant is being built in a JV with Indian state-owned utility, NTPC Limited, and is scheduled for commissioning in March next year.