Bangladesh has finalised hydropower imports from Nepal using Indian power transmission lines, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has said.
“We’ve finalised importing electricity from Nepal through India. We’re now waiting to fix the tariff,” he said Thursday (May 9) after meeting visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra.
Power-starved Bangladesh plans to import 500MW from Nepal. In June last year, India cleared the way for Nepal to export electricity to Bangladesh using its transmission lines, a significant step towards stronger regional cooperation.
Back then, Kwatra said the goal was to allow 40MW of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh using the Indian transmission line. He said hydropower cooperation was a very important element of cooperation.
After a meeting with Modi, Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that electricity exports to Bangladesh would start soon. He said that a tripartite agreement among India, Nepal and Bangladesh would be signed soon.
Bangladesh’s appetite for power is growing as the country passes through an unprecedented growth phase and prepares to graduate from the LDC bloc.
Currently, the country has an installed power generation capacity of 27,162MW, with the majority produced by gas-fired plants (12,216MW). Coal produces 6,604MW, while the country currently imports 1,160MW.
The government plans to generate 40,000MW by 2030 and 60,000MW by 2041.
On April 30, Bangladesh generated 16,477MW, the highest in its history.
Source: SomoyNews
