Nepal and Bangladesh will be collaborating in the sector of energy and hydropower with long term goals.

Bangladesh has proposed Nepal for a joint venture at the government and private level with the goal of purchasing around 9,000 megawatts electricity from here by 2040.

It seems that Bangladesh wants to use electricity generated in Nepal even through a tripartite agreement among Nepal, India and Bangladesh.

It may be noted that Energy Minister Barshaman Pun in August-September had visited Bangladesh and his visit paved the way for collaboration in the energy sector.

Nepal and Bangladesh had inked MoU on energy cooperation on August 10 last year. Minister for Energy Pun and Bangladeshi State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid had signed the MoU.

Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN) president Shailendra Guragain said the Bangladesh private sector is willing to invest for the construction of hydropower projects with a capacity to generate about 6,000 megawatts power.

He said the government needed to create the environment facilitating in electricity export for that purpose.

According to him, Bangladeshi investors have expressed their willingness to invest in some of the attractive projects based in State-1.