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Delhi offers to sell power to Dhaka

DHAKA: India has offered to sell electricity to Bangladesh and it plans to produce 30,000 MW in the next 10 years in Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

“We can have an agreement to export 1,000 MW,” Minister of State for Commerce and Power Jairam Ramesh told The Hindu. He is here on a three day visit. Mr. Ramesh, who was in the country on a three-day visit, made the offer on cooperation during meetings with Bangladesh Commerce Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman and the special assistant to the Chief Adviser for Energy and Power M. Tamim.

“It’ll be a competitive price… no profiteering,” he said. Bangladesh could take power from adjoining Indian States.

India would have surplus power in the coming years, he said. A project in Tripura to generate 750MW electricity was under construction, while Indian companies had got permission to install power plants in Nepal to generate 1,400MW which would be transmitted to India.

India was now pursuing a plan to generate 30,000MW in the next 10 years in Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

Referring to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s proposal for a South Asian power grid, the Minister said the power sector cooperation could take place through the proposed grid. But the real issue was how that grid could be set up.

Mr. Ramesh said India proposed a partnership with Bangladesh in their under-construction Tripura power plant. Bangladesh could buy electricity from the plant as Tripura’s requirement was only 250MW.

He also proposed a joint working group in this regard. Bangladesh Commerce Minister Hossain Zillur said it was an interesting proposal.

On the economic front, India had allowed duty-free import of 8 million pieces of apparel items from Bangladesh, Mr. Ramesh said. It had so far exported 3 million pieces. The remaining was expected by next year. This would add $60-70 million to the country’s export earnings.

India now allowed Bangladesh investment in India. He would be in Agartala next month to launch the first Bangladesh-financed food processing project.

Indian exports to Bangladesh increased three-fold during the last seven years to $3.3 billion. Bangladesh’s exports to India increased seven-fold to $350 million. There was a huge trade surplus in favour of India. “We’ll have to address the issue…. The only way to reduce the gap is through big Indian investments in Bangladesh with buyback arrangement.”

Mr. Ramesh said Indian investors were waiting to invest in Bangladesh’s pharmaceuticals, steel and IT sectors.

“I’m not here to press for transit,” the Minister said in reply to a question. But India was all for transit through Bangladesh. It would help Bangladesh’s economy and reduce the trade gap.

Mr. Ramesh visited the 240MW Siddhirganj peaking power plant which is likely to begin operations next summer.

Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh, a newly established state-owned public limited company, is implementing the project with BHEL, the plant contractor.

The plant will have two generation units, each with a production capacity of 120 MW.

The second unit has already been installed.

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