Dr Singh inaugurated the India-Bangladesh Power Transmission Plant in Bheramara in, Kustia district in Bangladesh through video conferencing from Delhi while his counterpart Shekh Hasina was personally present in Bheramara.

The two prime ministers also jointly laid the foundation stones of Moitree Super Power Project and Rampal Power Plant of the Sunderbans.

Later, Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of Bheramara 360MW Combined Cycle Power Plant.

The India-Bangladesh Power Transmission project has been the outcome of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two neighbouring countries in January 10, 2010 during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India.

“Madam Prime Minister, the initiative we took during your historic visit to India in January 2010 is being realized today. The transmission line and the high voltage direct current (HVDC) station in Bheramara provide a safe and reliable interconnection of the power grids of our two countries, which will enable supply of 500 MW of power from India to Bangladesh,” said Dr Singh.

Indian Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Dr Farooq Abdullah was, however, present on the occasion.

From October 5, the Indian public sector, NTPC Ltd will commence power supply to the Bangladesh Power Development Board under a government-to-government contract. This will be increased to 250 MW in November 2013 and a further 250 MW will be added by the end of 2013. The project could eventually be scaled up to allow 1,000 MW of power flows.

The project was undertaken for implementation involving $ 196.8 million (equivalent to 1600 crore Bangladeshi taka) assistance from Asian Development Bank. A 100-km double circuit 400-kV transmission lines was installed from Baharampur in Murshidabad district in West Bengal in India to Bheramara in Bangladesh of which 73.5 km fall in Indian part and 27.36 km in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh signed the power purchase agreement (PPA) in February last year where an indicative tariff was fixed at about Rs 3 (Tk 5.5 approximately) per unit (each kilowatt hour). However, the Indian Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) will finally fix the tariff.

Jointly inaugurating the Moitree Super Power project, Dr Singh said : “Today, we are also laying the foundation stone for the 1320 MW Maitri Thermal Power Project being developed by the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company, which is a joint venture of India’s NTPC Ltd and the Bangladesh Power Development Board. I extend my best wishes to the project and call upon the project authorities to observe the highest environmental standards in its execution, given that the Sunderbans are our common heritage.”

Saying that “economic development is the biggest challenge” for all South Asian countries and their “destinies are interlinked” the Indian Prime Minister said : “The Framework Agreement on Cooperation for Development that we signed in Dhaka in 2011 provides the template for our cooperation in the future.”

He hoped that Saturday’s inauguration will represent an important milestone in connecting two countries and the broader region through a growing web of cross-border energy links and trade.