Investment in joint venture power projects in the BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal) deserves both serious and priority attention from Bangladesh authorities. A survey, conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in the sub-regional countries, has highlighted its importance. The JICA has found that such investment can help Bangladesh source at least 8000 megawatt (MW) of electricity, mainly cheap hydropower, from India, Nepal and Bhutan, by the year 2035. The Japanese official aid agency has also offered financial support to Bangladesh's bid for joint venture power projects.
Bangladesh has long been trying to import hydropower from Nepal and Bhutan over the Indian territory. The move was earlier thwarted for obvious reasons. But the situation on the ground is changed now. The sub-regional countries have inked a deal recently to allow the plying of motor vehicles through each other's territories with a view to boosting connectivity. Besides, Bangladesh is importing power from India - though on a limited scale. India has offered Bangladesh to import some more electricity from it. The implementation of three regional power gridlines, according to the findings of the JICA survey, would make easier the import of power by Bangladesh from India, Nepal and Bhutan.
The generation of 8000 MW electricity through the establishment of coal or liquid fuel-based power plants would require a large amount of investments. It would be pretty tough for the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) to arrange resources for the purpose. The government has been able to boost power generation in recent years and efforts are on to add more. But the heavy dependence on liquid fuel-based and cost-intensive private rental power plants, has given rise to controversies. Besides, the government has come under severe criticism from environmentalists for selecting a place near the Sundarbans to set up a large coal-based power plant.
Given the constraints that the BPDB encounters while building power plants with own resources, JICA's suggestion to source power by building joint venture plants in neighbouring countries appears reasonable. This kind of power trade is very common in different regions of the world these days, for it helps sharing the cost of large power plants by a number of countries and exploiting cheap sources of power generation. However, implementation of such power projects is only possible when the countries concerned are interested to carry those through.
Among the sub-regional countries, Bangladesh remains the most power-starved country. So, for its own sake, the initiative should come from Bangladesh to convince others to build power plants through cooperative efforts. However, India's willingness to be a part of such efforts would matter most since the power transmission lines would pass through it. As India puts greater emphasis on regional connectivity, it would hopefully take interest in the generation of power through collaborative efforts of the BBIN countries.
Jt venture power plants in BBIN
FE Team | Published: August 23, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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