What we’re tracking: On October 15, a China Exim Bank delegation led by its president, Wang Chunying, met Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood in Dhaka to discuss financing for the power sector.
Projects on the table: the Payra Thermal Power Plant Project; the Power Grid Network Strengthening Project (G2G); and the Expansion and Strengthening of Power Network under the DPDC area (G2G). The minister asked the bank to speed up funding for Payra’s expansion, smart-grid and control systems, and DPDC network upgrades.
The quote: “Stable power and energy is the cornerstone of national development and growth,” the minister said.
A renewable signal: Wang welcomed recent NBR tariff and duty cuts on green-energy equipment and said the bank is interested in financing ground-mounted and floating solar, wind, and waste-to-energy projects.
Why it matters: Bangladesh’s grid, not just its generation capacity, is a key bottleneck. Grid and distribution upgrades can reduce losses and outages faster than new plants. At the same time, new external loans add to a debt burden that economists are already flagging.
What’s missing: No financing amounts or loan terms were disclosed, so the cost of the projects to the budget cannot yet be assessed.
What to watch: Approval timelines for the two G2G grid projects, and whether solar and wind proposals move from interest to signed financing.
Related reading: Bangladesh, China Exim Bank discuss financing for power sector projects — BSS
