India will seal an agreem­ent with its neighbour Ba­ngladesh this week to use Ashuganj

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port on latter’s territory to ship heavy eq­uipment for setting up 726.6 mega watt (mw) po­wer plant in Tripura. The pact will clear transportation hurdles for setting up gas-based power plant at Palatana.

A team of senior officials from government-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is camping in Bangladesh to fine-tune the agreement. “A memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed this week that will allow India to access Ashuganj port. Talks been held at highest level, both sides have agreed to use the port,” said a senior official at ONGC privy to the development.

ONGC will supply gas to the upcoming power plant in Tripura. Currently, the largest explorer in the country produces 1.5 — 1.6 million cubic metres of gas per day from its Tripura block.

“We can produce up to 3 million cubic metres of gas per day. But, there are no customers. Once the power plant is set up at Palatana, the gas will be utilised,” he said.

Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) is setting up the Rs 2,200 crore combined cycle power plant (CCPP) in Tripura. The plant is expected to generate power by 2012.

The equipment for first 320-mw unit has been imported from the United States.

“The equipment weigh more than 320 tonnes. It is extremely difficult to transport them via roads,” the official said. The distance by road from Haldia port, where equipment had been imported, to Palatana is nearly 360 km. On the other hand, the sea route from Haldia to Ashuganj is less than 100 km, the official added.

A turnkey contract worth close to Rs 100 crore has been bagged by ABC India to transport equipment to Palatana.

In 2008, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) along with Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) and Tripura government has set up ONGC Tripura Power Company for implementation of 726.6 mw power project at Palatana in Tripura to supply power to the power deficit areas of northeastern states.