BD pvt sector keen to invest in Nepal’s hydropower projects

Bangladesh's private sector wants to tap the business opportunity of Nepal's hydropower through investing money in some hydropower projects there.
Bangladesh-Nepal Joint Steering Committee (JSC) meeting will discuss the issue in its meeting scheduled to be held on March 8 and 9 in Nepalese Capital Kathmandu.
"Bangladesh Chamber of commerce and Nepal's Chamber of Commerce have expressed their interest to jointly invest in the hydropower sector. Bangladesh's biggest private sector power producer company has also showed its interest to invest there as there is a huge demand for electricity," Power Cell Director General Mohammad Hossain told the Daily Observer on Tuesday.
The Joint Working Committee on Bangladesh-Nepal power sector cooperation has identified 20 points across Nepal that could produce electricity for meeting the local demand. A joint working committee is
    working there and has already completed its survey, he added.
Power Division observed that Nepal has a potential to produce 30,000MW of electricity. Indian companies are working there to do energy business in their own way and Bangladesh wants to invest there and install some hydropower projects jointly.
This project is excluding from the Indian GMR 's Upper Karnali Project.
Bangladesh plans to invest one billion dollars in Nepal and Bhutan to tap hydro potential of the two countries. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has endorsed the Power Division's proposal in this regard. Earlier, Bangladesh-India-Nepal have successfully completed signing of a non-binding MoU with GMR Group and Bangladesh and Nepal energy sector cooperation deal one year back.
"We will discuss Bangladesh's investment in hydropower projects in Nepal, power import, Bangladesh-Nepal power grid line via India and capacity building and knowledge sharing issues in the upcoming meeting," Mohammad Hossain said.
Bangladesh- Nepal meeting will also discuss the possibility of developing two hydropower projects with a total installed capacity of 1,600 MW with Bangladeshi investment. Bangladesh is interested in financing the 1,110 MW Sunkoshi II and 536 MW Sunkoshi III located on the Sunkoshi River in central Nepal.
Bangladesh has planned to import 9,000MW of electricity from Nepal over the next 10 years.