The goverment is serious to develop the power infrustucture of Bangladesh.Bangladesh is seeking $7 billion of foreign investment to boost its electricity generation, a shortage of which has slowed the country’s economic development, a government adviser said on Thursday.

“We invited foreign investors during a four-day road show in Singapore and New York as we need huge direct foreign investment to spur our economy,” said Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, energy and power adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The two-day show in Singapore was held from Jan. 25, followed by another in New York from Jan. 28.

“About 25 globally reputed companies like Morgan Stanley (MS.N), Siemens (SIEGn.DE), AES Corp (AES.N), ConocoPhillips (COP.N), Caterpillar (CAT.N) and HSBC (HSBA.L) participated in the road show and showed keenness to invest in Bangladesh,” Tawfiq told a news conference.

Bangladesh also held a similar show last month in London.

Due to technical constraints and shortfalls of natural gas supply, Bangladesh can produce only around a maximum of 3,700 MW of electricity while peak hour demand reaches more than 5,500 MW, officials said.

Electricity demand has been growing by 7.50 percent annually since 1990.

Around 40 percent of Bangladesh’s 150 million population has access to electricity, one of the lowest levels in the world.

“Augmenting electricity generation is a key priority of the present government and we are committed to generate 5,000 MW by 2011, and 7,000 MW by 2013 and that will require an investment of $7 billion,” Tawfiq told reporters.

The government will float a pre-qualification international tender this month to set up four natural gas or diesel fired power plants with total capacity of 800 MW, he said.

He said another pre-qualification international tender would be floated in July this year for four coal-fired plants.

Tawfiq said foreign experts would visit Bangladesh in March to discuss liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.

“We feel that it would not be difficult as the private sector investors both at home and abroad, along with our development partners including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, expressed desire to play a major role in this, while the government will play the role of the catalyst,” he said.

Bangladesh also plans to import up to 1,200 MW of electricity from India by the middle of 2012.

Today the entire world is gradually becoming a Digital Planet. Almost every state is heading towards a knowledge-based society and Bangladesh cannot stay away from the advantages out of it. Though it is very easy to speak about such a dream, i.e. making a country
The golden jubilee of the independence of Bangladesh would be observed in 2021. The country has already fixed its target of achieving ‘Digital Bangladesh’ by that time. It is a timely expectation for proper positioning the country among other hi-tech countries globally. A country goes digital means it will be an e-state means all its activities of governance, commerce, education, agriculture etc., will be powered by computer and internet. Today information communication technology (ICT) drives the technological and economic advancement of the developed as well as emerging economies. The goal of establishing such digital country would bring success in the ICT sector, which cannot be ignored in this 21st century. Heading towards that target will link every device such as cell phone, internet, computer, e-learning, e-governance etc.

The World Bank asked Bangladesh on Wednesday to follow experiences and practices of Singapore in information and communication technology (ICT) to achieve its vision for a digital country by 2021.

“Digital Bangladesh has generated public excitement and support, challenged the government to new ways of working and thinking … and solve problems through ICT,” said Ellen Goldstein, country director of World Bank in Bangladesh.

“Drawing on the Singapore example, the Bangladesh government’s vision of Digital Bangladesh can be a catalyst to improve service delivery to citizens and business in Bangladesh…and accelerate the country’s development through the new knowledge economy,” she said.

“This technology has become pervasive in our daily lives, and it has so much potential that we have to fully tap, here in Bangladesh,” she told a seminar on the occasion of Singapore ICT Day.

Singapore has been consistently ranked as one of the top countries in e-governance and for ease of doing business. Today in Singapore, over 2,000 government services are available online.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set a goal for her impoverished south Asian country to become fully digital by year 2021 in line with her efforts to improve economy, cut poverty and make Bangladesh a middle-income nation by then.

Her government has started supplying computers in schools in the remotest areas of the country and hiring skilled teachers side by side with offering free education up to grade 12, officials said.

Verghese Mathews, the High Commissioner of Singapore in Bangladesh, said that the e-Government systems aimed at increasing the efficiency of the public sector, and improving transparency and good governance, all of which in turn enhanced overall business infrastructure.
More :Towards a digital Bangladesh

“There is the TradeNet system, which provides a single window for all trade permits and related matters. Then there is LawNet, an electronic filing for the judicial system; and, finally, the Online Business Licensing Services, which delivers integrated cross-agency services through one platform,” the High Commissioner said
We will follow you to eradicate corruption as Singapore is a corruption free country and a successful model in ICT,” said Abdul Awal Mazumder, secretary, ministry of science and ICT of Bangladesh.

He said that over the next 12 years Bangladesh planned to introduce IT systems in all government offices, trade and business to alleviate poverty, create more jobs and eradicate corruption.

Yeong Wee Tan, a senior official of Singapore-based IDA International Pte Limited, said that in the 1960s Singapore was a loan recipient of the World Bank and had since progressed to a point where individual GDP (in Singapore) has now reached $34,000.

“With the help of IT we achieved tremendous success as it is very vibrant in our country and South Asian nations including Bangladesh can reap the fruits of our experiences,” Wee Tan said in his presentation.