Unique Meghnaghat gets stamp duty waiver

The commerce ministry has waived the stamp duty amounting to more than Tk 4 crore for registering the financial documents of Unique Meghnaghat Combined Cycle Power Plant, according to a gazette issued last week.

A number of fossil fuel-based power projects in Bangladesh recently got stamp duty waivers while those centring renewable energy are yet to see any such benefit. So, it seems the government is promoting the use of fossil fuels instead of more sustainable sources of energy.

Unique Meghnaghat, the country's largest combined cycle power plant located in Sonargaon of Narayanganj, has a production capacity of 584 megawatts fuelled by natural gas.

Unique, a subsidiary of Unique Hotels and Resorts, signed an array of agreements in 2019 with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh, and Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited to set up the independent power producer project.

Previously, the Power Construction Company of China, S Alam Power Plant, and SEPCO Electric Power Construction Corporation received stamp duty waivers.