250MW power deal signed with India

DHAKA  DELHI NEWS

Dhaka, Feb 28  A deal for buying 250MW of power from India was signed on Tuesday at New Delhi.

"Every unit of power would cost Tk 4 according to the agreement," Bangladesh's power secretary Abul Kalam Azad  over phone from New Delhi.

"The work is going on to set up 400KV distribution lines to bring in the power from India. We hope to get this power from June next year."

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the agreement was signed two years back during prime minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India in 2010.

Power Development Board member (company affairs) Mohammad Abul Kashem signed the deal on behalf of Bangladesh, while a director of NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd, a subsidiary of NTPC Limited, signed for India.

Even though the prime minister had expressed intent to import 500MW of power from India during the signing of the MoU, India later said that they would be able to provide only 250MW from the government sector. The deal on Tuesday was signed in keeping with the condition, Azad said.

The secretary continued that the Bangladesh government also proposed to buy 250MW more from India, a proposal the Indian government is analysing with seriousness.

The decision to sign the deal was taken at the second meeting of the Bangladesh-India Joint Steering Committee at New Delhi, Azad said. "Various aspects of the agreement will be unveiled at Dhaka next month."

Power secretary Azad and his Indian counterpart P Uma Shankar led their country's delegations during Tuesday's meet. The first meeting of the steering committee was held on March last year.

"The government has signed a deal with India to build a 1320MW coal-based power plant at Bagerhat's Rampal on Jan 29. The attendees of the steering committee meet also discussed speedy implementation of the plant's construction," Azad said.