Country's largest seed firm to be powered by straw-based electricity

Work for a straw-based bio-gas cum power plant, first of its kind in the country, is going on in full swing to produce 500 cubic metres of bio-gas and 80 KW (kilowatt) of electricity for the country's biggest seed firm at Bashbaria in Dashmina upazila under the district.

Good quantities of organic fertiliser will also be produced under the project.

Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) set up the country's largest seed firm on 1044 acres of land at Bashbaria in Dashmina upazila at a cost of Tk 245 crore to produce hybrid seeds of different crops.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the firm on March 19 in 2013.

To meet power demand of the project, a bio-gas plant was set up in the project site and Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory, a subsidiary business concern of the Bangladesh Army, engaged in the Tk 8.49 crore project to implement the bio-gas cum power plant on December 27 in 2014.

With the help of China company Bosima, the factory has already set up different establishments and plant machines on 40,804 square feet area to generate 80 KW of electricity from bio-gas, said Md Tasir Hishmee, an official of the project.

At first straw is put into the processing unit to produce gas that would be stored into two separate gas-chambers, said Bishwajit Sikder, deputy assistant engineer of the project.

"With this bio-gas two electric generators will be run to produce 80 KW of lectricity that would meet power demands of the firm. One and a half tonnes of straw will be needed daily in the plant.

"Organic fertiliser will be produced from used straw in the project and this fertiliser will be used in the firm's land to produce crop," he said.

Md Alamgir Mia, project director of the seed firm, said it is the first straw-based bio-gas cum power plant in the country.

A technical team from China will visit the firm soon and then the project will be opened, he said.