By IRNA,
New Delhi : Energy starved Bangladesh has signed a landmark 35-year power transmission deal with India, paving ways for import of 250 megawatts of electricity from the neighbouring country, starting from 2012 end.
The state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) inked the bulk power transmission treaty with Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) at a ceremony witnessed by Bangladesh’s Finance Minister, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, Prime Minister’s energy adviser, Tawfique-e-Elahi Chowdhury, and concerned officials of both the countries at Dhaka, PTI reported.
The agreement keeps the provision for Bangladesh to export power to India in the future, while PGCIL was tasked to construct, own, operate and maintain a 400-KV double-circuit line to exchange 500-MW power between the two neighbouring countries soon after the system is launched.
“It’s (agreement) a small step but a greater thought in regional cooperation through which the South Asian countries will immensely benefit,” Muhith said.