US$ 1bn to be sought from Germany for renewable energy sector
2-day Bangladesh-German Consultation meeting to begin Jan 18
Dhaka, Jan 15 (UNB) - Bangladesh will seek about US$ 1 billion financial support from German government for the development of renewable energy sector in the country, officials said.
They said the request for the fund will be made at the upcoming biannual Bangladesh-German Government Consultations Meeting scheduled for January 18-19 in Dhaka.
The Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany and Economic Relation Division (ERD) of Bangladesh will lead the discussion on behalf of their respective sides.
Ahead of the meeting, Power Division has prepared an ‘input paper’ for the meeting to seek financial support in different potential fields of the power sector.
According to the officials, a total of 12 projects have been listed in the input paper by the Power Division. The total fund requirement was estimated to be US$ 1.589 billion.
But 1.052 billion was alone estimated for different projects in the renewable energy sector while the rest US$ 537 million was earmarked for implementation of the projects in the conventional power sector.
The renewable energy sector projects include investment in solar mini grid system (US$ 168 for 25 MW), solar irrigation (US$ 878 million for 125), wind power mapping and capacity building.
Germany has long been extending financial support to different sectors. “Only the power and energy sector received about 130 million Euro (about US$ 195 million) since 2006,” said an official of German donor agency KfW.
He said though Bangladesh seeks more than US$ 1.5 billion support for the next couple of years for the power sector. “But it’s not clear how much commitment will be made by the German side for the power sector in Bangladesh”.
Bangladesh Power Ministry official, however, said they hope a big support from the German side for the power sector in general and renewable energy sector in particular, as the European nation has been very keen to cooperate with Bangladesh in the development of this sector.
They said the request for the fund will be made at the upcoming biannual Bangladesh-German Government Consultations Meeting scheduled for January 18-19 in Dhaka.
The Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany and Economic Relation Division (ERD) of Bangladesh will lead the discussion on behalf of their respective sides.
Ahead of the meeting, Power Division has prepared an ‘input paper’ for the meeting to seek financial support in different potential fields of the power sector.
According to the officials, a total of 12 projects have been listed in the input paper by the Power Division. The total fund requirement was estimated to be US$ 1.589 billion.
But 1.052 billion was alone estimated for different projects in the renewable energy sector while the rest US$ 537 million was earmarked for implementation of the projects in the conventional power sector.
The renewable energy sector projects include investment in solar mini grid system (US$ 168 for 25 MW), solar irrigation (US$ 878 million for 125), wind power mapping and capacity building.
Germany has long been extending financial support to different sectors. “Only the power and energy sector received about 130 million Euro (about US$ 195 million) since 2006,” said an official of German donor agency KfW.
He said though Bangladesh seeks more than US$ 1.5 billion support for the next couple of years for the power sector. “But it’s not clear how much commitment will be made by the German side for the power sector in Bangladesh”.
Bangladesh Power Ministry official, however, said they hope a big support from the German side for the power sector in general and renewable energy sector in particular, as the European nation has been very keen to cooperate with Bangladesh in the development of this sector.
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