Trilateral agreement essential to increase regional co-op in power sector: Nasrul Hamid

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said Bangladesh-India-Nepal trilateral agreement is essential to increase regional cooperation in the power sector.

Negotiations are ongoing, he said adding, Bangladesh has sent a proposal to India and Nepal for signing an MoU (memorandum of understanding).

He made the remarks while addressing a seminar titled "Pre-event Seminar on the 3rd Nepal Investment Summit -2024" at the Nepal Embassy in Baridhara in the city today (30 March).

The state minister said that if the transmission line is built between Nepal and Bangladesh, electricity can be imported as well as exported.

He said that it is possible to build profitable partnerships across borders through regional cooperation.

"Through joint efforts, the potential of our region can be quickly exploited. It is essential for neighbouring countries to work together for sustainable development and economic prosperity", he observed.

Nasrul Hamid said Bangladesh was the first to import electricity from India. Now about 2,660 MW electricity is being imported from India.

He noted that a process for importing 40 MW of power from Nepal through the unused capacity of Bangladesh's Bheramara HVDC sub-station using the Indian grid is almost finalised.

"Tariff settlement between Nepal's National Electric Authority (NEA) and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) is almost complete".

The state minister said BPDB will invest in Nepal's Sunkoshi-3 project with the opportunity to sell electricity to Nepal and India.

"Feasibility study has already been completed. Discussions are going on between the two sides to move forward", he said.

The matter of importing the electricity produced by the joint investment of the Indian company in the GMR project to Bangladesh is almost at the final stage.

He also said that Bangladesh Power Management Institute can provide quality training to Nepalese engineers.

Bangladesh can help Nepal in setting up solar power plants and solar home systems.

Nasrul Hamid said private investors from Bangladesh are willing to invest in Nepal's power sector. Nepal should announce special incentives to encourage them.

Ambassador Nepal to Bangladesh Ghanshyam Bhandari said in his speech that the investment environment in Nepal has been made more liberal and business friendly in recent years.

In this regard, strengthening economic relations with Bangladesh is on the priority list of Nepal, he said adding, Specially in the power sector, for the first time in South East Asia, these two countries have come a long way towards eco-friendly hydropower trade.

Sushil Bhatta, Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Investment Board, spoke among others on the occasion.