Prime Minister's International Relations Affairs Adviser Professor Dr Gowher Rizvi yesterday urged Australia to share expertise for the development of Bangladesh's power and energy sector, reports BSS. "Bangladesh will need 2000 engineers in the next five years," he said while addressing as chief guest a discourse titled 'National Symposium on Capacity Enhancement for Bangladesh Power and Energy Sector' at Sonargaon Hotel in the capital. Monash University, RMIT University and Power Cell under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources jointly organized the daylong national symposium.
Project Leader of Government Partnership Development Programme (GPFD) and Associate Professor of Monash Business School, Monash University Quamrul Alam delivered the welcome address, while Professor Firoz Alam of RMIT University gave the vote of thanks.
Among others, Power Division Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus, Energy and Mineral Resources Division Secretary Nazimuddin Chowdhury, Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) Chairman Monowar Islam, Australian High Commissioner in Dhaka Julia Niblett also spoke at the symposium.
Gowher Rizvi said Bangladesh has made a tremendous success in power generation capacity and now the country has set a target to install power generation capacity at 24,000 MW by 2021, which was below 4,000 MW in 2009.
Addressing the occasion as a special guest, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said, "We need professionals for management of the power and energy sector."
The government has a plan to establish a power management institution, which would help building Bangladesh in future, adding, "We also need to develop our universities and their faculties for the maintenance of the power sector properly."