Two Indian conglomerates on Saturday signed deals for power-sector investment of nearly 5.5 billion dollars to set up new power plants in energy-starved Bangladesh, officials said, according to dpa. Bangladesh's state-run Power Development Company inked the Memorandum of Understanding with Indian business groups Reliance and Adani after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Dhaka on a two-day official visit. State Minister for Energy and Power Nasrul Hamid said the deals will help Bangladesh to produce 4,600 megawatts more electricity. Reliance Power Limited, a sister concern of Reliance Group, will set up a 3,000 megawatt power plant. The total size of the investment by Reliance would be 3 billion US dollars, an official of the power development board said. Adani Power Limited, a concern of Adani Group, planned a 1,600 megawatt coal-fired power plant in Maheskhali Island of south-eastern Chittagong district. The company will invest 2.5 billion dollars in the project Bangladesh presently produces nearly 9,000 megawatt of electricity to supply mostly urban areas and industrial units. More than half of its rural households are yet to come on to the national power grid. The country imports 500 megawatts of electricity from India to meet its domestic demands. It has also started construction of a nuclear power plant with technical and financial assistance from Russia.
