In May 2023, The Business Standard reported that the government of Bangladesh planned duty-free imports of solar-powered desalination plants. The aim was affordable, safe drinking water for coastal communities in the salinity-prone south that lack grid electricity. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal was expected to announce the plan on 1 June in his budget speech for fiscal 2023-24. Finance ministry officials said a foreign company was already working on about 1,500 such units in the south. Local provider FloWater Solutions welcomed the initiative.
The report showed customs policy used as a lever for decentralised, solar-powered desalination where salinity and a lack of grid power coincide.
Source: The Business Standard