Sandwip of Chittagong isolated from the mainland of the country is being included in the national grid for the first time. To reach electricity on this island, the construction of a 16-kilometer long submarine cable (the bottom of the sea beneath the sea) was completed. Sandwip upazila surrounded by sea and river will be lighted in light of electricity from next month.
Since December 21 last year, a Chinese contracting company started its installation of electricity by 10 feet below the Bay of the Bay of Bengal. The technical complexity is concluded on Thursday after 41 days. This is from Chittagong's Sitakund to Sandwip, below the 16-kilometer long sea.
Iqbal Karim, Assistant Director of Power Supply Board (PDB), Assistant Director and Power Development Board (PDB), Iqbal Karim told the first light that two cables of 33,000 volts were set below the sea level. A 10 feet long and 5 foot-width robot was removed from water from a special Chinese vessel for its installation. The robot removed the soil beneath the ocean and placed it on the floor. Engineers of Chinese contracting companies supervise this work through the ship's monitor.
The Power Development Board sources said that the work of establishing a 10 kilometer stretch of Sitakunda land and 16 km to Sandwip's land was completed to reach the national grid power in Sandwip. Its total 42 km from the bottom of the sea and on the terrain of two upazilas is from China.
PDB Chief Engineer (Chittagong South) Prabir Kumar Sen said that the installation of two substations and transformers will now be started in Sandwip and Sitakunda. He said that initially 10 megawatts will be supplied. Through this, first 10 thousand subscribers will get electricity. After expanding the transmission line in Sandwip, 60 MW of power can be supplied. However, a separate project has to be taken for setting up the transmission line. There is a plan to bring Sandwip upazila under the power of 100 percent electricity.
The population of Sandwip in 80 square miles is about four lakhs. This island is about 50 kilometers away from the city of Chittagong and river.
Awami League MP from Sandwip, Mahfuzur Rahman said, there was a dream for the national grid power Sandwip people. Sandwip people are coming under electricity due to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's interest. This will facilitate trade and commerce. This isolated island will increase employment.
PDB sources said, Tk. 144 crore was spent on providing electricity to Sandwip. The submarine cable project was approved on September 10, 2014. Calling for international tender, the Chinese contracting firm 'ZTT' has got the job of setting up a submarine cable. In order to implement this project, the contracting firm has cooperated with China's SB Submarine Systems Company Limited.
Sandwip now supplies only one megawatt of electricity through the generator (through fuel oil) PDB Everyday, the maximum of six hours of electricity was received from the evening till 11 pm. Many families use solar power outside the upazila headquarters. Many people get electricity at a certain time with small generators.