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Dhaka Thursday,  Mar 28, 2024

BD-India To Increase The Electricity Interconnections

EB Report

India, once again expressed interest in extending its support for Bangladesh’s Power Sector. Both the countries agreed on to improve the current capacity of the existing bilateral transmission line, known as ‘interconnection’ and to conduct a feasibility study to increase the number of interconnections.

In a meeting held at city’s Sonargaon Hotel on Wednesday, the Joint Steering Committee (JSC), which is a secretary-level body of the power sector, formed several years ago by the governments of India and Bangladesh, have decided to amplify the mutual cooperation in such a way. Bangladesh’s Power secretary Monowar Islam, and India’s Power secretary Pradeep Kumar Pujari led the respective country’s delegates.

In that meeting, the delegates also discussed on the topics related to electricity importing from Nepal, Bhutan, India and especially the Indian investment on the country’s power sector. The delegates discussed the current progress of the joint investment project in Bhutan to build a 1,125 MW hydropower plant. The generated electricity of that Hydropower plant is likely to be imported to Bangladesh.

Insider sources of the Power Division confirmed that, both countries have agreed to increase the capacity of Bheramara-Bahorampur interconnection by 500 MW more. Bangladesh is now importing around 600 MW of electricity from India, of which 500 MW is coming through Bheramara, while 100 MW through Comilla.

The meeting discussed on the current status of the investment proposals of Reliance, Shapoorji Pallonji and Adani Group in Bangladesh’s power sector and the possibility and prospect of Bangladesh’s participation and investment in India with Bangladesh-India joint efforts. The meeting also discussed and expressed satisfaction over the progress of materializing the 1,320 MW Maitree Super Thermal Power project at Rampal in Bagerhat.

It was the Eleventh sitting of the JSC members which is also called the Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting. However, the last meeting was arranged in Delhi in 2015.

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