Private companies encouraged to invest in Bangladeshi power sector

Bangladeshi Finance Minister AMA Muhith urged the private entrepreneurs to invest in power sector to help solve the power crisis in the country.

Announcing a number of incentives, the minister said here Saturday in a meeting with the entrepreneurs, "Please come up with proposals, we're ready to provide all cooperation."

As per the incentives, power producers will be allowed to import duty free furnace oil or coal for use in power plants to be run commercially. They will not need to pay license fee at a rate of 500,000 taka (about 7,143 U.S. dollars) for per megawatt power production.

The Power Division convened the meeting for private sector entrepreneurs to discuss the government's Captive Power Policy ( CPP)policy.

Under the policy, the government offers the entrepreneurs, who have captive power plants to run their own industrial units, to sell their surplus electricity to the government as much as they want.

Bangladesh is reeling under the constant power crisis. Due to lack of new power plants and uninterrupted gas supply to the existing gas-fired power plants, the country now has a power supply shortfall over 1,500 MW.

Source: Xinhua