Construction work on a waste-to-energy plant at the Aminbazar landfill of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) on the outskirts of the capital is yet to begin though two and a half years have elapsed since the signing of a contract to this end.

DNCC officials said there might be a delay of four more months in starting the work on the first such power plant in the country, which will cause a delay in the production of 42.5MW of electricity from the solid waste from October 2025.

DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam on 28 November 2023 said they handed over 30 acres of land to China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) and construction work on the waste-to-power plant would begin in full swing from January.

Officials of the DNCC Waste Management Department said they handed over the land by the Aminbazar landfill to the CMEC after acquisition and development at the beginning of the year and according to the contract, the company will have to start production of electricity after 18 months of handover of the land.

On 30 November 2021, Bangladesh Power Development Board, DNCC and CMEC signed four agreements on land use, waste supply, production and purchase of electricity.

As per the agreement, the DNCC will provide CMEC with 30 acres of land for setting up an incineration plant at the Aminbazar landfill and 3,000 tonnes of waste every day for producing 42.5MW of electricity for 25 years.

The BPDB will purchase the generated electricity from CMEC at Tk18.29 per unit.

Talking to the Daily Sun, DNCC Chief Waste Management Officer Captain Mohammad Fida Hasan said the Chinese company may seek a four-month time to start the work in full swing. “The CMEC president may visit the site in May. During the visit, he may give a declaration.”

When asked about the reason behind the four-month delay, he said, “The declaration of the inauguration of the construction may come from the heads of the government of the two countries and after the visit of the Bangladesh prime minister to China within a couple of months.”

Fida Hasan said the DNCC has acquired 81 acres of land at Tk790 crore and spent Tk40 crore on the development of 30 acres of land for the plant.

The DNCC officials said they and many other local government bodies are waiting for the end result of the project and if the project becomes successful, they will follow the model.