Dhaka: Bangladesh and India have agreed on
an agreement to install two 1320 megawatt coal-fired power
plants in this energy-starved country as a joint venture, in
line with a deal inked during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina`s
New Delhi visit last month.
"We have agreed to sign a Memorendum of Understanding to
install the plant," power division M Abul Kalam Azad told
newsmen at joint press briefing after talks with an Indian
delegation led by his Indian counterpart H S Bharma yesterday.
Azad said the coal fired power plant would be installed
on a 50:50 equity basis to be run on imported coal and
operated by India`s National Thermal Power Cooperation (NTPC).
He added that the MoU for the joint venture also included
bilateral cooperation for human resource development and
increased efficiency of power plants.
Bharma said India was keen to extend support for power
sector development in Bangladesh as it was "promise bound to
do it as per agreement" during the premier level talks.
The project is estimated to be implemented with an
investment of nearly Taka 1300 crore (nearly Rs 800 crore) to
be required for grid inter-connection.
Both the secretaries were also co-chair of a steering
committee on Bangladesh-India grid connectivity for power
swapping, an issue which also largely dominated the talks,
according to officials familiar with the meeting.
Bharma told newsmen that Bangladesh would get power from
India as per the government rate which was determined by the
Indian Energy Regulatory Commission.
"At present, the cost of per unit electricity ranges
between 2.50 to 3.50 rupees depending upon the fuel," Azad
said.
He said the state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board
(BPDB) would float tender on February 28 to install a 48
kilometer 400 KV transmission line for the grid connectivity.
The development came after two days of meeting, the
second one, of the Joint Steering Committee for Cooperation in
the Power Sector on grid inter-connection and cooperation
between the BPDB and NTPC.
Under last month`s MoU, India agreed to offer 250MW from
its central grid in the initial stage.
Officials of the two countries earlier held two rounds of
meetings in Dhaka and New Delhi ahead of the signing of the
MoU while they estimated an investment of approximately Taka
1300 crore to be required for grid inter-connection.
They said of the amount Taka 1062 crore would be required
for works in Bangladesh while an investment of Taka 240 crore
would be spent in India.
Power ministry officials said the deal suggested the
state-run PDB to sell power to India when it would have
surplus electricity.
"We identified at least four points for proposed
interconnection but the Iswardi- Behrampur and Asuganj-Tripura
are considered to be the most viable sites for the exchange
project," Azad earlier told agency.
The power secretary, however, said the deal would require
synchronisation of the transmission systems of the two
countries as Bangladesh system is based on 232 KV AC line
while the Indian system is based on 210 KV AC line.
"We will need to transform the connecting points of the
two systems into high voltage DC line or (HVDC) as
back-to-back link of 250MW capacity," Azad said.
Bangladesh currently faces electricity deficit of around
1500 to 1800 mw on an average against the de-rated capacity of
4500 mw in 132 state run and private units.
Officials said development of interconnections of large
electric power systems between states of a big country or
between neighouring countries is a worldwide practice and
referred to several examples of such cooperation in Africa,
East Asia, Europe and the United States and Canada.
This proposed deal got a momentum as Bangladesh in
September in principle agreed to provide access to Ashuganj
river port to facilitate the transportation of the Over
Dimensional Consignments (ODC) or overland transport
facilities for the Palatana Power Project.
PTI
