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India is expected to complete its share of the upcoming Indo-Bangladesh grid over the next six months. The transmission link is designed to supply up to 500 mw of electricity per day to the neighbouring country. It formed part of wide-ranging bilateral cooperation agreements signed in January 2010.
India, through Central utility Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, is constructing around two-thirds of the 125-km line passing through Murshidabad district in West Bengal. The project was originally scheduled to complete in 2012 with the deadline subsequently revised to June 2013. India’s portion of the work is expected to complete albeit with a three-month delay.
One substation at Berhampore in Murshidabad district may be completed soon. The line runs from Berhampore to Bheramara on the Indo-Bangladesh border. According to reports, the Rs.1,780-crore project has been stymied by land acquisition issues at Berhampore for the substation, and law and order issues in Murshidabad.
Bangladesh’s national transmission agency, Power Grid Company Bangladesh (PGCB), is far from completing its share of the network inside Bangladesh, it is learnt. It could take PGCB two more years to complete its share of the project.
The proposed 125-km transmission line will connect Behrampur in India and Bheramara in Bangladesh. Of the total line length, 40 km would fall in the Bangladesh territory while the rest would be in India. The transmission systems of India and Bangladesh, which are based on 400kV AC and 230kV AC respectively, are proposed to be synchronised by installing a back-to-back HVDC link. The line will have an initial transfer capacity of 500 mw, which will later be upgraded to 1,000 mw. In early June 2010, Asian Development Bank approved a $100 million loan for constructing the cross-border line. ADB’s loan will finance the transmission and substation components of the project.
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