First factory goes into production next year
State-owned West Zone Power Distribution Company has signed an agreement with a Chinese multinational entity to set up a joint venture through which five lakh prepaid meters would be annually produced alongside other electrical appliances.
The venture, Bangladesh Smart Electrical Company Ltd, would be set up in Khulna with 150 employees. Both sides expressed hope of starting commercial operations next year, says a press release.
The West will hold 51 percent stake in Bangladesh's first such manufacturing and assembling factory while Hexing Electrical Company the rest. The venture will have Tk 50 crore in authorised capital and Tk 28.6 crore in paid-up capital.
Md Shafique Uddin, managing director of the West, said the venture would fulfill the immense demand for prepaid meters, saving a huge amount of foreign currency.
The decision to shift to prepaid meters from postpaid ones aimed at reducing system loss and waste of power at the customer end.
Abdul Motaleb, company secretary of the West, and Zhou Liangzhang, chairman of the Hexing, signed the agreement at Bidyut Bhaban in Dhaka on Sunday.
Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources; Ahmad Kaikaus, secretary to Power Division, and Khaled Mahmood, chairman of Bangladesh Power Development Board, were present.
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