Speaking at a brain storming session on the issue, the bank officials said appointment of private sector management team could improve the performance in the ailing power sector.

They identified the distribution segment of the power sector as the most inefficient part of the sector that seriously impedes overall development of the entire power sector.

Officials of international private companies engaged in the management of power distribution in different African nations presented their experiences in the seminar.

The World Bank, Power Division and Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility jointly organised the seminar titled "Contracting for Power Sector Performance Lessons from International Experience" at a city hotel.

However, such suggestion of the World Bank and other private companies could not impress the officials of the state-owned Power Development Board (PDB) and Dhaka Electric Supply Authority (DESA) as they came out with some negative experiences in the power sector.

They said DESA and DESCO were created as per suggestion of the World Bank, but this step has failed to yield any major results in reducing system loss or improving their performance.

Addressing the seminar as chief guest, State Minister for Power Iqbal Hassan Mahmood said the government could go for hiring private management consultants for distribution business as a test case for a certain period to improve the performance of the sector.

"But, unless the overall efficiency of the officials are improved, no major change will take place in the power sector…..the officials have to come up with positive outlook to run their organisations in a professional manner and with commercial view," he told the seminar.

Power Division Secretary Nazrul Islam said the government has implemented a number of reform programmes to improve the performance of the power sector that reduced the system loss.

"Reform programmes are going on and many things are yet to be done to achieve the goal to have an efficient power sector," he added.

The seminar was addressed, among others, by PDB Chairman Khwaja Ghulam Ahmed, Director General of Power Cell BD Rahmanatullah, World Bank Energy expert Alan Townsend and official of Nigeria Lorne Halpenny.