The government has taken a move to invest $1 billion in hydropower projects in countries of this region to get electricity at a cheaper rate, said State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid on Saturday, reports UNB. "We’ve planned to invest $1 billion in regional countries. There is huge potential to get 10,000 MW of hydroelectricity from the region. A window has opened up in regional power sharing," he said. The junior minister was addressing a seminar titled ‘Primary Energy and Power: Roadmap for Entrepreneurship’ at International Conventional City in the capital’s Bashundhara area. CEMS, an event management firm, organised the seminar in association with Energy Bangla on the occasion of power expo held at the venue.
Nasrul Hamid indicated that government’s power system master plan (PSMP) will be reviewed soon giving a special emphasis on power import from regional sources beside its generation from coal. "The master plan will drastically be changed as this region has huge potential for hydro power generation".
The seminar was addressed, among others, by energy expert and Buet professor Dr M Tamim, Chittagong University professor and Consumers  Association of Bangladesh' adviser Dr Shamsul Alam, Power Cell director general Mohammad Hossain, former Petrobangla director Mokbul-e-Elahi, Rampal power plant's managing director UK Bhattachrya and Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission's chief scientific officer Dr AKM Fazle Kabir.
Nasrul Hamid admitted that there are corruptions at the field levels in providing electricity connections. But the Power and Energy Ministry has taken a move to digitise the official process.
“Corruption will come down when this process will be completed by 2016,” he said.