DHAKA / AGARTALA, June 6 (TIWN): On the 1st day of Indian Premier Narendra Modi’s Bangladesh visit, two leading Indian power firms have signed MoU with Bangladesh Power Development Board to build up power plants in Bangladesh. The firms will build several plants in Bangladesh to produce up to 4,600 megawatts of electricity to ease the Bangladesh’s prolonged power crisis.

The two Indian firms Adani Power Limited of India and Reliance Power Limited of India signed these separate memorandums of understanding with state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) on Saturday, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a two-day state visit.”

Reliance Power and BPDB today signed a MoU to develop four units of power plants to produce 3,000 MW of electricity with a cost of $3 billion," the company said in a statement. The plants will burn natural gas. Adani Power will set up two coal-fired plants with a total capacity of 1,600 MW that will cost more than $1.5 billion.
Officials of the firms said it would take 13 months to complete construction of the plants after final agreements had been reached.
"Discussions are going on to settle the details of the plants," said Mohammad Saiful Islam, a director of BPDB.
Bangladesh produces 7,000 MW of electricity but demands far exceeds supply, with a daily deficit of up to 1,500 MW.
The Bangladesh government on Thursday unveiled a 2.95 trillion taka ($38 billion) budget for fiscal 2014/15, stepping up spending on key sectors to tackle power shortages that are crimping economic growth and deterring investment.
Spending on developmental needs, such as power and transport will rise about 40 percent from the current fiscal year to 263 billion taka ($3.4 billion), Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith told parliament, while overall spending will increase 23 percent in the year from July 1.