MoU with Nepal soon to tap hydro-power

Bangladesh is set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nepal to tap Nepal's hydro-electricity potentials through investing in a project of the Indian company GMR.
"We are set to sign the MoU next month in Nepal. Nepal has agreed with our idea, we talked with the Indian government and GMR. The visiting Nepali Minister for Energy assured us that they are ready to re-start the talk in this regard," State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told the Daily Observer on Thursday.
Power Division has made massive preparations to ensure the country's energy security from India, Nepal and Bhutan. Bangladesh also sought open access to Nepal's hydro-electricity potentials, which is estimated to be around 46,000 MW.
"The Nepalese Ministry will send back the draft MoU for us to oversee it," Nasrul Hamid added.
According to a Power Division official, Nepalese government recently identified the proposed Upper Marsyangdi-II as one of its national priority projects, which is being facilitated by the Investment Board of Nepal where GMR will invest and give 12 per cent royalty to Nepal and bring all power from Nepal to India. Later, GMR will market this electricity in its own way.
During a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday, the Nepali Energy Minister Janardan Sharma gave the same assurance, however, in a breakfast meeting with Nasrul Hamid on Thursday, Janardan Sharma echoed the same words.
Nepalese Energy Minister Janardan Sharma has arrived in Dhaka on December 6 on an invitation of his counterpart Nasrul Hamid.
"NVVN is interested in firming up Power Sale Arrangement (PSA) with GoB/BPDB which will be a back to back agreement to the PPA to be entered into between NVVN and GUKHL. NVVN's involvement in this transaction is an electricity trader with limited liability to the extent of trading margin to facilitate the transactions," a senior official of the Power Division said.
NVVN is the lone state-owned Indian company in the Power sector engaged in the business of Power Trading. Doing business in areas of short-term, medium-term, long-term power trading, solar bundled power, cross border power trading, power swap arrangement and trading of power & REC on power exchanges.
Bangladesh now plans import of hydro-electricity from Nepal after India to meet its increasing demand for power to ensure the country's energy security from India, Nepal and Bhutan.
In 2014, the Power Division has sent a draft MoU to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal on Power Sector Cooperation, but Nepal is yet to send back the draft.
India has executed a MoU with GMR Upper Karnali Hydropower Ltd (GUKHL) in Nepal, for tying up 900 MW saleable power to India and Bangladesh. However, NVVN proposes to sign a MoU between Bangladesh government/Bangladesh Power Development Board to tie-up to 500 MW from the Upper Karnali Hydropower project on the long term basis.
"We want to make joint investments in hydro-power projects with the Himalayan country to import of 500 megawatt (MW) of hydro-electricity," Nasrul Hamid said.
"A tri-lateral MoU for joint development of hydro-power among Bangladesh, India and Nepal may be signed soon to materialise the idea," a senior official said.  
Bangladesh may be requested to share their views and comments regarding examining the feasibility for joint participation and development of Sunkoshi-3 (approx. 536MW) and Sunkoshi-2 (approx. 1110 MW) hydro-power project in Nepal. For importing power in Bangladesh has to use Indian corridor that is why both countries may consider tri-party MoU for Joint development of hydro power projects in Nepal, he added.  
International Finance Corporation (IFC), an arm of World Bank, is willing to provide fund and technical support to Bangladesh for making investment in the Nepalese hydro-power project.