Dhaka, Delhi to sign MoU in power sector in Dec

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M Azizur Rahman
Bangladesh is set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with neighbouring India on bilateral cooperation in the power sector during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to New Delhi next month, officials said Sunday.
Under the MoU, the first of its kind between Bangladesh and India, both the countries would get involved closely in cooperating with each other and mitigating the electricity crisis both are now facing, a senior power ministry official told the FE.
A wide spectrum of issues including electricity generation, transmission and inter-connectivity are among those to be considered, the official said.
Besides, a power line connection between India's West Bengal and Bangladesh's western region is high on the agenda.
Electricity inter-connection between Tripura and Bangladesh's eastern region is also under consideration, the official added.
There is also a plan for equity investment from Bangladesh for installation of a 740-megawatt (mw) combined cycle gas-fired power plant in Tripura.
Bangladesh would get electricity from the Tripura plant, once it invests in the project, he added.
An advanced team from Bangladesh power sector consisting of power secretary Abul Kalam Azad and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) chairman ASM Alamgir Kabir will be in India next week to complete the groundwork before signing of the memorandum.
"During the visit we'll hold talks with the Indian power secretary and top officials of
Indian power entities including those entrusted with the responsibilities for national power grid and transmission," BPDB chairman ASM Alamgir Kabir told the FE.
He said the Bangladesh power sector delegation would also visit some under-construction power plants and coalmines and share experience with their counterparts.
Some Indian projects, now being built under public private partnership (PPP), are also the targeted areas the delegation would focus on during the visit.
Bangladesh has planned to set up a number of power plants under the PPP and the visit to the successful PPP projects in India would facilitate smooth launching of the PPP in the power sector in Bangladesh, said Mr Kabir.
The delegation will also visit India's largest electricity generation company - National Thermal Power Corporation.
Experts said despite having enormous potentials India and Bangladesh never engaged in fruitful bilateral cooperation in the power sector.
The issue first came up for official discussion during the previous caretaker government's tenure in November last year, when the then Indian state minister for power Jairam Ramesh visited Dhaka and sought grid connectivity between the two countries to ensure smooth electricity transmission.
Electricity inter-connectivity would help ease the shortage of power in the two countries as their peak and off-peak hours do not take place simultaneously and their demands also vary, said experts.
During the visit Mr Ramesh had also invited investment in the under-construction 740 mw combined cycle power plant in Tripura.
But no significant headway was made afterwards regarding the power sector cooperation.
The proposed MoU might break the ice in the bilateral electricity cooperation between Bangladesh and India to ensure benefit for both sides.