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Civil society groups have demanded the immediate cancellation of Orion Group’s 635 MW coal power project in Matarbari, citing legal irregularities, outdated technology, and a projected burden of Tk 30.59 billion in capacity charges on the public.
A press conference named “Cancel Orion’s 635 MW Coal Power Plant in Matarbari” is held on Tuesday at the Dhaka Reporters Unity demanding the immediate cancellation of the proposed 635 MW coal-fired power plant by Orion Group in Matarbari, Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar.
The conference was jointly organized by the Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development (BWGED) and the Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN), with co-hosting organizations including Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), Forum for Environment and Development (FED), Maheshkhali Janosurakkha Mancha, and Songshoptaque.
Hasan Mehedi, Member Secretary of BWGED, emphasized- “The proposal to construct Orion’s 635 MW Coal-fired power plant under the controversial law and using outdated coal technology is completely illegal. It will impose an additional burden of BDT 30.59 billion in capacity charges on the people.”
Under the controversial Bangladesh’s Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provisions) Act 2010, the government approved Orion Group’s 635 MW coal power project in Gazaria, Munshiganj on 29 September 2013. A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) was subsequently signed on 21 April 2016 between the Power Development Board (PDB) and Orion Power Unit-2 Dhaka Limited, with a stipulated commissioning deadline of January 2020. 45 months post-signing. However, failing to commence construction, Orion was advised by PDB in February 2022 to relocate the plant to Matarbari or Maheshkhali, extending the project deadline to December 2026.
Despite multiple extensions, the deadline was again pushed in July 2024. This time to December 2030. Civil society previously demanded, along with BWGED, in a press conference on 12 September 2024, that the agreement be scrapped if deadlines continued to be manipulated.
Three state-owned banks have jointly committed a loan of Tk 105.79 billion for this coal project. Economist Dr. Ahsan H Mansur of the Policy Research Institute opposed this loan, urging redirection of financing towards renewable energy.
Given the current progress, this power plant cannot be completed before 2026. Any further delay would jeopardize Bangladesh’s roadmap to achieving 100% renewable energy by 2050. Moreover, relocation has changed variables such as land lease and fuel transportation costs, both of which should now be lower than stipulated in the original 2016 agreement. These are strong grounds for immediate termination of the PPA.
On 4 May 2025, a petition signed by 1085 community folks demanding cancellation of the Orion coal project was submitted to the Honorable Chief Advisor of the interim government, Dr. Muhammad Yunus. Copies of the petition were also delivered to relevant advisors on energy and environment, the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, and the Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner, among others.
On the same day, 144 civil society organizations considering environmental, climate, public health, and economic risks submitted four separate petitions to advisors and officials at the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MOPEMR), and the relevant authorities at CPGCBL, urging cancellation of the Orion’s power project.
Earlier, on 1 March 2025, local communities organized a human chain in Matarbari expressing outrage. Despite an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) being approved in late 2023, BWGED had formally appealed to the Honorable Environment Advisor on 30 October 2024 to revoke the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
Civil society representatives believe and urge that the government still has time and opportunity to cancel the Orion’s 635MW coal project in order to protect public interest, environmental integrity, and economic stability.
