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Recent social media claims alleging that Bangladesh agreed to purchase costly electricity from a Chinese-built facility to spite India over cross-border transmission charges have distorted the timeline and nature of the contracts. Viral posts circulating across regional online platforms have falsely suggested that the Bangladeshi government acted impulsively by locking into an expensive Chinese energy agreement following a diplomatic disagreement over Indian power pricing.
The controversy gained momentum in early September 2026 when a graphic was published on the official Facebook page of the Indian newspaper Anandabazar Patrika. The widely circulated post mockingly asserted that an offended Dhaka administration had agreed to pay 127 percent more for Chinese electricity simply to penalize New Delhi after India proposed an additional levy on its power exports.
The online posts were accompanied by a graphic featuring Prime Minister Tarique Rahman positioned before the national flags of India and China. The accompanying captions accused the administration of making an economically irrational choice, alleging that Bangladeshi officials chose to pay exorbitant sums for Chinese power rather than accept a minor tariff adjustment proposed by Indian energy suppliers.
The origin of the trade dispute dates back to August 2026, when India’s state-owned power trading entity, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam, submitted a proposal to add a minor surcharge on electricity exported to Bangladesh. The proposed fee amounted to 0.01 Indian rupee, or approximately 0.01 US cent, per unit of electricity to help cover grid maintenance and sundry operational expenditures.
Following standard bilateral negotiations, authorities from both nations reached an understanding to reduce the proposed surcharge. Reporting from Bangladeshi news outlets confirmed that both sides agreed to halve the proposed maintenance levy, effectively resolving the fee dispute through diplomatic and commercial channels.
Despite the resolution, online narratives quickly tied the Indian fee proposal to a separate municipal energy project situated in Aminbazar, near Dhaka. Social media commentators and accompanying news reports claimed that Rahman had chosen a Chinese contractor to build the Aminbazar facility in direct retaliation, agreeing to buy electricity at 25 takas (around $0.20) per unit while power from India cost roughly 11 takas (around $0.08) per unit.
However, historical records demonstrate that the agreement for the Aminbazar waste-to-energy facility predates the recent tariff discussions by several years. The primary commercial contract was signed on December 1, 2021, long before the August 2026 Indian grid proposal was introduced and years prior to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman assuming office.
According to initial project details documented by the United News of Bangladesh, the government contracted the China Machinery Engineering Corporation in late 2021 to construct the nation's first waste-to-energy generation site. Under that multi-decade framework, authorities agreed to purchase electricity from the facility at a fixed baseline of 21.78 US cents per unit over an operational period of 25 years.
When the contract was initially executed in 2021, the agreed-upon dollar tariff converted to approximately 18.295 takas per unit. Over the intervening years, foreign exchange rate shifts caused the same fixed dollar rate to convert to roughly 25 takas per unit by September 2026, creating the appearance of a price jump that was entirely driven by currency valuation rather than a newly negotiated tariff.
In contrast, cross-border electricity imports from India operate under entirely separate pricing structures. Official data published in the Bangladesh Power Development Board’s latest annual report indicates that imported power from India cost an average of 11.72 takas, or about $0.09, per unit during the 2024-2025 fiscal period.
Energy officials have pointed out that comparing the two figures directly represents a fundamental misunderstanding of energy economics. Md Shameem Hassan, the public relations director for the Bangladesh Power Development Board, clarified that India's proposed fee was strictly a wheeling charge related to grid transmission and maintenance, whereas the Chinese project involves a localized generation tariff for specialized waste processing.
Hassan explained that attempting to contrast an ancillary grid wheeling adjustment with a comprehensive waste-to-energy power purchasing agreement is logically flawed. The two agreements cover distinct operational mechanisms and serve entirely different structural roles within the national energy network.
Furthermore, domestic officials have highlighted the specialized ecological objectives behind the Aminbazar waste-to-energy initiative. Mir Shahe Alam, the Minister of State for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives, noted that the specialized plant is scheduled to commence commercial operations in 2028 and is vital for managing Dhaka's severe urban garbage accumulation.
While acknowledging that the per-unit power generation cost for waste incineration appears higher on paper than conventional regional power imports, Alam emphasized that the project yields substantial environmental advantages. He noted that the financial outlay is expected to be offset over time through improved urban sanitation, effective waste reduction, and the acquisition of valuable carbon credits.
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