Indian firms keen to invest over Tk1,500cr in Bangladesh's energy, edu, health

A group of Indian firms and organisations are keen to invest over Tk1,500 crore in the energy, education, and health sectors in Bangladesh.

Companies such as Indian Gas Exchange Ltd (IGX) and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Limited expressed interest in the cross-border gas and electricity trade, while medical service-providing organisation Desun, and educational organisation Guru Kashi University expressed plans to build infrastructures in Bangladesh.

Among the investors, Desun Hospital is looking to establish a hospital in any divisional city from among Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, and Khulna while Guru Kashi University is eying to build a local campus.

Representatives from these organisations disclosed their new investment plan at a press conference at India Bangladesh Business Conference held on Sunday at a Hotel in the capital.

The conference was jointly organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and the India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The press conference was moderated by Abdul Matlub Ahmad, president of the India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Rajeev Singh, director general of the Indian Chamber of Commerce.

Addressing the press conference, Rajesh Kumar Mediratta, managing director and CEO of Indian Gas Exchange Ltd, said they want to export gas to Bangladesh through a cross-border pipeline from Haldia Port of India.

"Required pipeline in the Indian part is already completed. Bangladesh can import gas from us by setting only a 100km pipeline if it wants," he said.

Regarding the prospect of the hydroelectricity trade, Rajat Gupta, executive director of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Limited of India said that it has a portfolio of 7097.2 MW electricity generation capacity mostly from hydropower.

"If Bangladesh wants, it can import cost effective electricity from us through a cross-border grid," said Rajat Gupta.

At present, Bangladesh is importing around 2,760MW of electricity through a cross-border power transmission line and recently opened a cross-border pipeline to import liquefied fuel.

On the other hand, Kolkata-based Desun Hospital is planning to invest Tk1,000 crore to set up a hospital in Bangladesh.  

"Currently, we are looking for spaces in four divisions of Bangladesh – Dhaka, Chottogram, Sylhet, and Khulna. We will set up a hospital in any of these cities," said Sajal Dutta, chairman of Desun Hospital.

Our plan is to make the hospital operational within five years, he added.

"Treatment of four diseases – cardiac, cancer, neurology, and gastrology will be our key focus of services," he added.

On the other hand, Indian Guru Kashi University is going to set up a campus in Bangladesh to offer quality higher education, especially around information technology-related subjects.

"In order to establish the campus, it has an investment plan of Tk500 crore," said Dr B Abdul Rafeeq, director of Corporate Affairs at Guru Kashi University.

Before the press conference, the opening session of the three-day long conference was held with the participation of delegates from the member countries of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec).  

Attending the opening session as chief guest, Pranay Verma, high commissioner of India to Bangladesh, emphasised energy cooperation and expanding electricity trade among Bimstec nations through regional connectivity.

"Given the post-Covid economic challenges and also current global uncertainties there is a need for regional strong action more than ever before. In this context, our regional cooperation like Bimstec assumes greater importance," he said.

Even though the Bimstec region has a combined GDP of nearly 3.6 trillion today, inter-Bimstec trade still remains limited to around $75 billion.

"Therefore, we must accelerate our efforts to boost inter-Bimstec trade and economic ties. The development of the regional network of supply and value chain will reduce our vulnerabilities and give our economics greater resilience and transference," he further added.

He highlighted the India-Bangladesh relations as the important anchor of the cooperation architecture of the Bimstec.

A hallmark of our ever-deepening relationship is also our growing cooperation in the field of power and energy, he added.      

Among others, Tenzin Lekphell, secretary-general of Bimstec; Aung Kyaw Moe, ambassador of Myanmar; Jigdrel Y Tshering, charges d'affaires of Embassy of Bhutan; Md Nurul Amin, chairman of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission and Faisal Khan, managing director of Summit Group, spoke at the event.