Projecting a whopping Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) economic engagement with Bhutan in areas like telecom, infrastructure and education, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday unveiled a mega plan for cooperation in the power sector.
"Our bilateral economic engagement with Bhutan will be of the order of Rs 100 billion... we should evolve a development and economic cooperation strategy that complements our mutual resources endowments," Singh, the first world leader to visit Bhutan, told Parliament of the Himalayan country.
Singh unveiled plaques of two power plants in the courtyard of the National Assembly after an elaborate ceremony to appease deities for the success of the projects, besides dedicating to Bhutanese people the 1020 MW Tala Project, commissioned in March last year.
"The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa government is committed to generate 10,000 MW of hydro-power in the country by 2020," Khandu Wangchuk, Economic Affairs Minister in the first-ever elected government said.
Outlining the future plans for the sector, Wangchuk said his government will work on other hydro projects such as the 990 MW Punatsangchu-II, 720 MW plant at Mangdechhu and 4060 MW Sankosh plant in close cooperation with India.
In his address to the first ever joint sitting of the National Assembly and National Council, Singh said, these projects would help India get the targeted 5,000 MW of electricity from Bhutan by 2020.
"Your prime minister told me that you are working towards achieving more ambitious targets. India will work with you in achieving those targets," he said adding that the two nations will work on detailed project reports for four new projects.
Both the countries are going in the right direction as electricity generated in the mountains of Bhutan lights homes in Bihar, West Bengal and Delhi, and hence increases Bhutan's revenue, Singh said.
India also offered first ever rail-link between India and Bhutan, connecting Hashimara to Phuentsholing, called the "Golden Jubilee Rail Line". "This link will connect Bhutan to the entire railway network of India," the prime minister said.
"Economic strategies would need to be employment friendly. We have to invest much more in the area of human resource development, skill generation and education," he added.
India offers vast opportunities for Bhutan's agriculture, industry and service sectors, he said adding, "We will work towards further improvement of connectivity between our two countries so that our borders become the gateways for mutually beneficial undertakings."
He said, there is tremendous scope for further expansion of people-to-people contacts, exchange of scholars and experts.
However, in the coming years, Singh pointed out, the challenge before both the nations would be to evolve a model of sustainable, inclusive and equitable development.
