Nepal ready to sign power deal with BD

Energy Minister of Nepal Radha Kumari Gyawali said her country looks forward to signing an agreement on power trade with Bangladesh after striking a similar deal with India, as she stressed regional cooperation in this sector.
"We are ready to sign the agreement with India … we are near to that agreement after Indian Prime Minister's visit to Nepal, and then we will go for the agreement with Bangladesh," she told reporters on Wednesday afternoon in Dhaka.
Speaking at a press briefing at Sonargaon Hotel after a Nepal-Bangladesh ministerial meeting on bilateral cooperation in the power sector, Radha Kumari said her Himalayan country is ready to sell electricity to Bangladesh.
Dhaka may also buy electricity from the private-sector share of the GMR power project which is now under construction.
Nepal welcomes long-term trilateral cooperation in the power sector, Radha Kumari said, laying emphasis on setting up regional network and power- sharing mechanism to make the regional cooperation a success.
State Minister for Energy, Power and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid Bipu led the host side at the talks. He also spoke at the press conference. Energy Secretary Monwar Islam and the Nepalese envoy in Dhaka were also present.
The state minister said they discussed how a closer regional cooperation in power and energy sharing could be developed among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal.
Signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on power trade, import of electricity from Nepal and setting up joint-venture power projects between Bangladesh and Nepal were among some other issues on the table.   
The Nepalese side wanted to know how Bangladesh runs power generation and distribution and manages peak-time load. "They also wanted to know about future demand and showed keen interest in Bangladesh's rural electrification system," he said.
He informed that both sides agreed on setting up power connectivity between Nepal and Bangladesh through Indian territories. Further discussion will continue after holding consultation with India. The Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka has already reassured of his country's support to such move, he said.
On the signing of the proposed MOU, the State Minister said both sides agreed to sign the instrument. But the draft of the MOU will be sent to Nepal first for vetting. Another meeting on power-sector cooperation will take place in Kathmandu in December this year, after the SAARC summit, to take the issue forward.  
He said Nepal has a potential of producing 83,000MW electricity from water resources. Out of this potential hydropower, 40,000 megawatts are both technically and financially feasible in the first place. However, Nepal is now producing only 600MW electricity, he said  
Bangladesh is buying electricity from India now and Nepal may supply additional electricity to meet the gap, the state minister said.