Power sector fetches $30b foreign investment in last 13 yrs: Nasrul

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid on Tuesday said power sector fetched $30 billion foreign investments in the last 13 years since 2009.

"Power is the only sector where maximum foreign investment has come during the period between 2009 and 2022 ", said the state minister while participating in the general discussion on the proposed national budget for 2023-24 at the Jatiya Sangsad.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on 1 June unveiled Tk7,61,785 crore national budget for 2023-24 fiscal setting the GDP growth target at 7.5 percent amid ongoing global economic crisis.

On the other hand, he said the accumulated foreign investment in the mineral and energy sector was Tk15,373 crore. "We hope that the accumulated foreign investment in the power, energy and mineral resources sector would be around $150 billion", he told the parliament with Deputy Speaker Shamsul Huq Tuku in the chair.

The state minister said the proposed budget has given importance on the power transmission as over Tk38,020 crore will get the power sector and Tk3,425 crore will get the energy sector in the proposed budget.

Besides, he said project has been taken to dig 46 gas wells in the next 2024 year and it is expected that 18 million cubic feet gas would be possible to rise daily under the project.

Terming uninterrupted power supply is a big challenge for the government, Nasrul Hamid said the government will go 'mixed fuel' system where coal, oil, renewable energy and power import from neighbouring countries would be considered instead of dependent on any particular system for uninterrupted power supply.

Considering the global carbon emission, he said although Bangladesh is not a responsible country in carbon emission but the government has a plan to include 10 percent renewable energy like solar power in the power generation.

To supply cost-effective power supply, Hamid said, "We already have signed a framework agreement with Nepal to bring 700 megawatts hydropower and the power cost in this system would not vary for long 20 years compare to the power generation from the fossil fuel".

Even a direct power grid line will be installed between Nepal and Bangladesh for import power and hydropower would be brought from Bhutan for cost-effective power generation in long run.

Other treasury bench lawmakers including Abdus Salam Murshedy, Kujendra Lal Tripura, Dipankar Talukder, Omar Faruque Chowdhury, Abdus Shahid, Enamul Huq, Nurunnabi Chowdhury, Anwarul Abedin Khan, Jafor Alam, Shahiduzzaman Khokon, HM Ibrahim and Jatiya Party lawmaker Golam Kibria Tipu, among others, took part in the discussion.