Bangladesh’s state Minister for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has sought “visible Indian cooperation” for importing hydropower from Nepal and Bhutan.

According to The Daily Star, he made such a request in talks with Indian officials in New Delhi this week. Nasrul talked about the growth of Bangladesh’s power sector and said the demand for electricity is increasing continuously in the country. “If electricity can be imported from Assam, uninterrupted supply to northern Bangladesh can be ensured,” he said. In response, the Indian side assured to cooperate to operationalize Nepal-Bangladesh energy trade. 

In an Interview with ApEx, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Nepal, Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury said that Energy cooperation is a very prospective area between two countries. He said: Bangladesh is energy hungry while Nepal will soon become energy surplus. That is a perfect scenario for complementing each other’s needs.”  We are also engaged in discussions on Bangladesh’s possible investment in hydropower projects in Nepal, he added. 

Also in the area of water sector cooperation, we are willing to work together for a basin-wide management of our water resources for mitigation of floods, augmentation of flow in lean season, and exploiting potentials for generation of hydropower, the Ambassador said. 

But, the prospect of Nepal exporting 50MW of electricity to Bangladesh through the Indian transmission link may not happen soon. The Indian side has recently told Nepali officials that electricity export from Nepal to Bangladesh through the Baharampur-Bheramara cross-border power transmission line is not immediately possible.

In August this year, Nepal and Bangladesh decided to request India to allow the export of 40-50 MW of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh in the initial phase by utilizing the Baharampur-Bheramara cross-border power transmission line.