Bangladesh preparing to import Indian power

DHAKA: Bangladesh will allocate Taka 17 billion ($245 million) in its annual budget next month for constructing the infrastructure necessary to import 500 MW of electricity from India, an official said.

Finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith has consented to the allocation.

A senior official of the power ministry said that the allocation would be used for building a transmission line from Berhampur in India's Orissa state to Bheramara in Bangladesh and to set up a substation.

The official, however, said that the project may need more than the sum allocated, New Age newspaper said Monday.

Energy-starved Bangladesh signed an energy deal with India in January when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited New Delhi.

Opposition leader Khaleda Zia has criticised the government for creating "an artificial power crisis" that would require power import without going through tenders and other trade procedures.

Economists and businessmen at a seminar organised Sunday called for "transparency" in power deals and asked the government to take a long-term view of the country's power requirements.