DHAKA: GCM Resources, the parent company of Asia Energy which has exploration licences and a mining lease over the Phulbari Coal basin and a Contract with the government for “Exploration and Mining Coal in Northern Bangladesh” held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in London on December 18.
GCM’s Chairman, Datuk Michael Tang, who is a successful Malaysian businessman, was re-elected unanimously by shareholders.
In his address to the meeting Tang reiterated strongly of his personal, as well as the company’s, commitment to work with the Bangladesh Government and the local community to develop the Phulbari Coal Project including associated power plants.
Tang said GCM through its subsidiary Asia Energy wants to be a part of the Government of Bangladesh’s initiative to generate 19,000MW (Megawatts) of power from coal by 2030. The Government’s decision to move quickly with large scale coal-fired power is supported by the UN’s Human Development Report 2015 released last week. This report positions Bangladesh at 142 out of 188 countries in terms of Human Development despite the very good work by the Government. The report goes on to re-affirm that there is a strong positive association between energy consumption and the Human Development Index. In other words the way to move Bangladesh to middle income and beyond is through adding significant power generation which will enable an industrial revolution and create large scale employment.
The GCM Chairman also spoke of the important role coal has and will continue to play in the Asian region to power the economies of these countries and lift the living standards of the people. He gave the example of Chinese state enterprises to develop over 92 coal-fired power plants in 27 countries for a combined capacity of 107 GW (Gigawatts).
These projects are largely assisted by the China Export-Import Bank. South Korea and Japan are also expanding their coal-fired power generation capacities and India has recently announced that it is on track to open one new coal mine per month and double its coal output by 2020.
It was recently reported that China, India, and Indonesia now burn 71% of the world’s newly-mined coal, and countries like Pakistan, the Philippines, and Vietnam could soon push the Asia-Pacific’s share of the total to 80%. Japan is also planning 41 new coal plants over the next decade, after scaling back its nuclear industry in the wake of the Fukushima reactor disaster. All of this is occurring because coal is still the most cost-competitive power generation fuel and this is most important for developing countries.
GCM’s Chief Operating Officer (and the company’s representative in Bangladesh) Gary Lye has just returned after attending the AGM. He said although Bangladesh is vulnerable to the effects of climate change, it is not itself a significant emitter of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide. Per capita carbon dioxide emissions are substantially below other countries in the region. Even with the addition of the 4,000MW of electricity capacity which Phulbari coal could support, Bangladesh would still be one of the lowest emitters of carbon dioxide in the world, even substantially less per capita than its neighbouring countries.
BDST: 1815 HRS, DEC 21, 2015
AKA
