Bangladesh has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nepal to fast-track the process of importing hydroelectricity from Himalayan country.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid and his Nepali counterpart Barsha Man Pun signed the MoU on behalf of their respective governments in Kathmandu Friday afternoon to intensify the bilateral engagements for power sector development, the Himalayan Times reported.
According to the Nepali news outlet, the MoU will set up a power secretary-level joint steering committee and joint secretary-level joint working group, which will meet every year to discuss and take forward the issues related to the bilateral cooperation in power sector.
After thanking the Nepali administration for the MoU, the Bangladesh state minister said Nepal has the prospects of producing 40,000MW of hydropower, and Bangladesh’s state-run and private companies can invest in the country's future projects.
At present, Nepal imports 400MW electricity from India but has set a goal to produce 15,000MW of hydropower in 10 years, which is being implemented, Barsha Man Pun said.
Bangladesh’s current electricity generation stands at around 16,000MW, which needs to be raised to 34,000MW by 2030 in order to sustain the country's high economic growth of above 7%.
Bangladesh and Nepal started talking on bilateral energy cooperation since the power trade agreement (PTA) was signed with India in 2014. Nepal has identified Bangladesh as a prospective market for hydroelectricity, which is a clean and renewable source of energy.
The Himalayan Times also reports that there is a prospect of energy trade between Bangladesh and Nepal as GMR Energy India has signed MoU to sell power produced from Upper Karnali Hydropower Project, which is going to be developed under Indian investment, to Bangladesh. For this purpose, an initial MoU regarding connection agreement was signed with Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India in April 2017.
