Wärtsilä Earns Power Plant Order

Wärtsilä will supply equipment for a 105 MW power plant being built by Baraka Shikalbaha Power Ltd., a private sector energy provider and subsidiary of Baraka Group, in Bangladesh.

The contract scope includes six Wärtsilä 50 engines running on heavy fuel oil (HFO). The low heat rate of this engine was cited as another key consideration in the award of this order. Wärtsilä has earlier received an order from Baraka Power for six Wärtsilä 50 engines for another of its power plant projects.

The Wärtsilä 50DF is manufactured in configurations from 6L up to 16V giving 950/975 kW per cylinder and a total maximum mechanical output of 15,600 kW. The engine speed is 500 or 514 rpm for use with 50 or 60 Hz applications. The engine has a maximum thermal efficiency of 47%. The engine has a bore and stroke of 500 X 580 mm.

“I think our track record in Bangladesh speaks for itself: repeat orders are the greatest endorsement of customer satisfaction, and our aim is always to be a trusted partner in meeting the needs of the project, however demanding,” noted Mr Jillur Rahim, Managing Director, Wärtsilä Bangladesh.

Today, Wärtsilä provides about 25% of the total grid capacity in the country and when fully operational in spring 2019, the new plant will bring Wärtsilä’s total power supply to Bangladesh to more than 4200 MW.

The plant will be near the Karnaphuli river in Shikalbaha, Chittagong, in southeastern Bangladesh. The order was booked by Wärtsilä in March and the delivery of the equipment is scheduled for October of this year.

In 2016, only 76% of the country’s houses were connected to the grid, and the government’s aim is to increase this to 98% by 2021. As the nation’s economy develops, more electrical power is urgently needed to support this growth and during the past 12 months, Wärtsilä has booked orders for 10 new generating facilities in the country: like many others, this delivery is being made on a fast-track basis to ensure that the new plant can be operational within the shortest possible time frame, the company said.