SMMAB

Industry representatives call for a $59 million, five-year package of grants, loans and tax incentives from the government after Dhaka extended a coronavirus-driven industrial shutdown into the middle of the month.

Solar project developers and other component importers are among those eligible to apply for low-interest loans for up to 10 years. The government had already offered a $200 million credit line last year.

Complaints about sub-standard, cheap PV imports from China – and notably, India – have been heeded by Dhaka, which has issued a requirement for modules, inverters, charge controllers and batteries to attain IEC electrical standards.

PV manufacturers receive 10% of the value of their exported products as an incentive and the nation’s central bank has extended the program to cover this financial year. Bangladesh’s solar manufacturers have called for more, however, and point to more generous schemes to the west.