Bangladesh awards Spanish firm with transmission project from India

Bangladesh government has awarded a Spanish firm over US$14.08 million project to build transmission line from Baharampur of India to Bheramara. It will be used to import electricity from India.

State-owned Power Grid Corporation of Bangladesh has nked a deal with the Spanish Cobra Instalaciones Y Servicios, SA to install a 400-kilovolt transmission line to facilitate electricity import.

The Spanish firm will complete it by 2012 establishing electricity interconnection between the two South Asian neighbouring countries.Another 230 KV Ishurdi-Khulna DC overhead transmission line is also required to be built at Bheramara for smooth transmission of Indian electricity, sources
said.

The Spanish Cobra has been selected for the Bangladesh job following a competitive bidding launched by PGCB in March last year. Manila-based multilateral donor agency - Asian Development Bank - will provide around US$9.156 million and Bangladesh government will arrange the remaining US$4.93 million to implement the project.

Installation of another 88 km electricity transmission line would also be required inside India to implement the electricity import by Bangladesh.Bangladesh plans to import around 250 megawatts of electricity initially once the infrastructure is built, said a power ministry official.

The infrastructure will facilitate importing of around 500 mw of electricity from India's state of West Bengal.