Work on constructing the third unit of Barapukuria coal-based power plant in Dinajpur is underway to add 275 megawatts to the national grid by 2018.

The new unit, which is being constructed by a joint venture of Harbin Electric International Company Ltd and CCC Engineering China, will take the total production of the country's lone coal-fired power plant to 525MW, said Sarath Chandra Bhaduri, chief engineer of Barapukuria Power Plant.

The plant will consume 600,000 tonnes of coal a year, with 75 percent of the fuel coming from Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Ltd.

The project cost is estimated at Tk 2,040 crore, said Mahbubur Rahman, executive engineer of the plant.

The existing plant has two units -- each having a capacity of 125MW.

The unit is part of the government's efforts to boost electricity production and cut reliance on gas-based power generation, as domestic reserves of the natural resource are dwindling.

Natural gas accounts for about 70 percent of electricity generation in Bangladesh, with about 2 percent power coming from coal.