China taps Bangladesh to supply electricity through Myanmar despite Rohingya crisis

Power Secretary Ahmad Kaikaus has said China is proposing to supply electricity to Bangladesh over Myanmar despite the Rohingya crisis.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 20 March 2018, 07:42 PM
Updated : 20 March 2018, 08:38 PM

He says a Bangladesh delegation recently visited Myanmar over the matter.

“There are sensitivities now among us [Bangladesh, Myanmar], but things are still going on that means there can be hiccups, and still we can move on,” he said, speaking on regional grid connectivity among the BIMSTEC countries on Tuesday in Dhaka.

The BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka organised the conference marking the 20th anniversary of its establishment with Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand as the members of this Bay of Bengal community.

Over 700, 000 Rohingyas have fled into Bangladesh from Myanmar’s Rakhine State since Aug 25 in the face of a military crackdown described as “ethnic cleansing” by the UN.

Ahmad Kaikaus. File Photo

China is supporting Myanmar in the UN Security Council amid mounting international pressure on Myanmar to solve the decades-old Rohingya crisis.

Power-starved Bangladesh is exploring options to get electricity from its neighbours.

Since 2013, India has been supplying 500MW of power from the Bheramara-Bherampur inter-connection. In addition, 160 MW power is being supplied to Bangladesh using the Tripura-Comilla interconnection.

Several projects in the power sector were included in the new line of credit of $4.5 billion announced during the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India in April.

Agreements worth nearly $10 billion of Indian investment, mainly in the power and energy sectors of Bangladesh, were also signed during the visit.

The power secretary said the BIMSTEC countries can move forward with cooperation and make a real progress in regional connectivity.

“I think sometimes we should also get off the idea that I have to win. We should move forward with one objective that we will win together which is a win-win situation,” Kaikaus said.

He said the government is also in discussion with Nepal and Bhutan for power connectivity.