Bangladesh's proposed FY27 budget places renewable energy and electric vehicles at the core of power sector reforms. Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury announced a target of 20% electricity from renewables by 2030, extended a zero percent tax rate on solar generation until 2035, and offered import duty exemptions for solar equipment until 2031. The budget also cuts advance income tax on EV registration from Tk2 lakh to between Tk25,000 and Tk1 lakh, and provides tax breaks for local EV manufacturers. The budget allocates Tk17,345 crore to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, up from Tk16,952 crore in FY26. It includes plans to review power purchase agreements, retire inefficient plants, and adopt a least cost generation strategy to reduce subsidies that exceeded Tk40,000 crore annually. The government aims to increase generation capacity from 28,919 MW to 35,000 MW by 2030 and expand transmission lines to 25,000 circuit kilometers. The first 1,200 MW unit of the Rooppur nuclear plant is expected online by January 2027. Domestic gas exploration will be strengthened with 69 new wells and 31 workovers over three years. The budget also outlines offshore bidding, a new LNG terminal review, a land based LNG terminal at Matarbari, and a new 5 million tonne per year crude oil refinery. Officials say the combined measures aim to reduce import dependence and support long term climate and energy goals.
