Bangladeshi cabinet approves proposal to buy power from India

The Bangladeshi cabinet Wednesday approved in principal a proposal to pave the way for import of power from India under any public and private initiative, a senior official said.

The electricity tariff will be agreed upon once a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is reached between the two neighboring countries, the country's Prime Minister's Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters at a press conference after the cabinet meeting Wednesday.

He said that the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved the MoU between Bangladeshi and Indian governments on cooperation in power sector.

"The government has decided to purchase electricity from India. We'll able to import electricity at an agreed price after the approval of the MoU (by Indian government)," Azad said.

Under the MoU, Bangladesh would be able to import up to 500 megawatts of power from India in near future, not just 100 megawatts power as was proposed earlier, leading English newspaper The Daily Star in its online edition reported Wednesday.

Production of electricity in the public sector in Bangladesh in2009 stood reportedly at about 4,300 MW per day against the daily demand for about 7,000 MW.

Source: Xinhua