Reputed and internationally recognized a team of seven Canadian companies are here in Bhutan for 5 days tour looking for business prospects in Bhutan.

Led by the Canadian ambassador, Stewart G Beck, a business delegation team from seven Canadian companies was in the country on a five-day business mission.  The delegation was exploring commercial opportunities in sectors like aviation, hydropower projects and infrastructure, and gaining a deeper understanding of the priorities, challenges and achievements of the current government in Bhutan.

Ambassador Beck said that Bhutan has emerged and was beginning to engage with the outside world. “The delegation is here with an idea to see what sort of business opportunities exist for Canadian companies, and how Bhutan and Canada can collaborate,” he said. “While Canada and Bhutan had a good relation, especially through the education dimension, we’re looking for economic dimension of the relationship.”

The ambassador, who said Canada had gone through the challenges, which Bhutan is going through, many years ago and that they have companies that know and understand such challenges.  Citing examples of the aviation industry, especially helicopters and hydropower projects, Ambassador Beck said the companies, whose representatives were with him, knew the physical challenges posed by Bhutan’s location or geography.

On hydropower, the ambassador said Canada has a huge hydro electrical sector, where 70 percent of the total electricity in the country is generated from hydropower.  But he said the Canadian companies would have to look outside the 10,000MW plan, if they were to start any project in Bhutan.  A representative from the Manitoba Hydro International ltd, Alisa Kreynes, said the company was already in talks with local consultancies, looking for small projects, between 10MW to 20MW, in the country.

Asked if the recent geological conditions in Punatsangchu I would be a matter of concern for Canadian companies showing interest in Bhutan, the ambassador said the companies had built dams in very difficult geological situations, and done run of the river projects in difficult geological locations similar to Bhutan’s.  “We have Canadian consultants working on the Three Gorges projects. We feel like it’s terrain is like that of Bhutan, where Canadian expertise would be welcomed.”

In his fourth visit in three years, the ambassador met with the prime minister on Thursday, and congratulated him on the “successful transition from the first parliament to the second parliament”. “The electoral process went very well and should be respected,” he said.

Source:Kuensel.