The Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources has proposed to allocate Tk 27,991.95 crore in the power and energy sector for the next fiscal (2020-21).
The sector was allocated Tk 28,051 crore for the current fiscal.
According to ministry sources, the allocation in the energy sector is being increased this time as compared to the power sector. Power sector budget has been reduced a bit. In the next budget, it has been proposed to allocate Tk 3,136.75 crore for the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, 1 thousand 916 crore in the current fiscal year. Meanwhile, an allocation of Tk 24,853.30 crore has been sought for the power sector, 26 thousand 64 crore this year.
Regarding the budget, an official of the power division said, "We have not been able to finish all the budget work due to coronavirus. There is a lot of work pending. Along with work, money will also remain, especially in the power sector. But we hope the scope of work in the power and energy sector will increase in the next financial year. So, there are plans to increase the allocation.
Nasrul Hamid, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, on Saturday told reporters that transmission lines would be given importance in the power sector and gas exploration in the energy sector next fiscal.
The government has taken up a plan to produce 24,000 MW of electricity by 2021, 40,000 MW of electricity by 2030 and 60,000 MW of electricity by the year of 2041 in its short-term, mid-term and long-term plan to meet the growing demand for electricity.
Along with these generation plans, it will also take up various programmes in the power transmission and distribution sector to supply the produced electricity to the consumers' end as it is set to supply electricity to every household by the end of December 2020.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal will submit the budget for the upcoming fiscal 2020-21 in Parliament on June 11. Earlier, the budget for the fiscal year 2020-2021 will be approved at a special cabinet meeting in Parliament.
The government has planned to invest more in the power sector with around $50 billion earmarked for the next 5 years aiming to increase electricity generation and capacity-building for transmission and distribution systems, sources said.
Power Division sources said a host of countries including Russia, the United States, Germany, Japan, China, India and South Korea have shown interest to invest in Bangladesh’s power and energy sector, thanks to a secure and investment-friendly environment in the country.
According to data with the division, around $20 billion was invested in the last decade to develop the power sector. During the period, the country’s power generation capacity increased to around 15,000MW.
`There are 136 power plants with a total installed capacity of 19630MW of electricity and now its actual or derated capacity is 19107MW. Besides, 1160 MW of electricity is being imported from India and around 350MW of power is generated by renewable energy,’ according to BPDB.
According to the Seventh Five-Year Plan, around 20,000MW power will be added to the national grid by 2025. The government expects that $15 billion more will be invested in the sector by 2021.
Nasrul Hamid had said, “Bangladesh is an investment-friendly country and the power and energy sector here is expanding day by day. Our target is to generate 60,000 MW of electricity by 2041. So, there is a huge opportunity for investment in the sector here. Many of the countries are keen to invest here.”