In further boost to bilateral ties, India will soon start supply of 100 MW power to Bangladesh besides finalsing a project to supply high speed diesel from Assam's Numaligarh to that country for a period of 20 years.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said supply of 100 MW power from India, including from Palatana Power Plant Project in Tripura, to the eastern side of Bangladesh will be operationalised soon.
"Numaligarh Refinery Limited and Bangladesh Petroleum Cooperation are working on details for their envisaged project of supply of high speed diesel from Numaligarh to Parbatipur, Bangladesh, for a period of 20 years under a JV project," said Swarup.
The product will be transported through a pipeline of approx 135 km, of which 130 km will be in Bangladesh and 5 km in India.
"As a goodwill gesture, an initial consignment of 2200 tonnes of diesel will be transported from Siliguri to Parbatipur by 50 wagons of Indian Railways. This train will be flagged off from Siliguri on March 17, 2016 by Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan," he said.
He also talked about extension of second Line of Credit worth USD 2 billion for Bangladesh for undertaking various development projects.
"The power connectivity will take our already substantial cooperation in this sector with Bangladesh to a new level as it will allow Bangladesh to address severe power shortages in its south eastern parts," Swarup said.
As part of a new telecom initiative, the people of Tripura can avail more reliable internet connectivity which will improve internet speed of the entire North Eastern region, while Bangladesh telecom operators will be able to effectively monetise their available infrastructure, he said.
The decisions on the projects and initiatives were taken during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Dhaka in June last year.
