Initiative Underway to Import 8 Million Tonnes of Coal for Rampal Power Plant

The tender process for importing around 8 million metric tonnes of coal for the Rampal Thermal Power Plant is progressing, with emphasis on properly assessing the technical, financial, and logistical capabilities of potential suppliers.

Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (BIFPCL) is conducting the procurement process to ensure a steady supply of coal required for uninterrupted power generation at the Rampal plant.

Industry stakeholders say that in a large-scale coal procurement process, careful assessment of suppliers’ previous experience, financial capacity, transportation and logistics arrangements, as well as their ability to deliver the required volume within the scheduled timeframe, is essential.

Proper verification of documents related to the proposed sources of coal is considered an important part of the procurement process.
Stakeholders say the ownership, production capacity, coal quality and regular supply capability of the mines identified as potential sources should be carefully assessed.

Where necessary, information may also be verified directly with the relevant mine authorities or authorised representatives to ensure the reliability of the submitted documents.

A regular supply of quality coal is essential for maintaining operations at the Rampal power plant. Any disruption in the timely availability of the required quantity of coal could potentially affect power generation.
Therefore, stakeholders have emphasised the need to carefully assess suppliers’ capabilities, coal quality, transportation arrangements and long-term supply plans before finalising the procurement.

Stakeholders believe that transparency and a competitive environment should be maintained throughout the large-scale coal procurement process.
Applying the same technical and financial evaluation criteria to all bidders and properly verifying the required documents would help strengthen confidence in the procurement process.

As the project is directly linked to the country’s electricity generation and energy security, stakeholders emphasise that the final decision should be based on proven capability, verifiable information and a transparent evaluation process.