Hydropower development along Teesta river basin: opportunities for cooperation

Abstract The aim of this research is to examine the hydropower development potentials and identifying major hydropower projects along the Teesta river basin that is shared by Bangladesh and India. The upstream of Teesta river basin is located mostly in hilly areas of Sikkim where India plans to produce electricity of over 6,500 MW by developing the hydropower potential of the basin. The downstream basin is densely populated, mostly flat land and has no hydropower potential. As of today, Bangladesh and India have been unable to agree on an integrated development plan for the Teesta river basin. Previous negotiations on Teesta river basin management have focused only on sharing water rather than sharing the wide range of benefits from water resources including hydropower. This paper identified the existing, ongoing and upcoming hydropower development projects. The hydropower sharing opportunity exists between the two riparian countries and this type of natural resource development could reduce economic tensions and provide a platform for sustainable agreements.