The government will start negotiation with the World Bank today for taking loans for 15 development projects including construction of the second Padma bridge at Paturia.
A negotiation meeting on the funding of prospective projects between the World Bank Dhaka office and Economic Relations Division will be held today at the conference room of the National Economic Council, an official said.
‘The meeting will focus on proposed development projects that were submitted earlier to the World Bank for its approval,’ a senior official of the ERD told New Age on Monday.
‘We are expecting the World Bank will accept the proposed projects the government wants to take up in line with the vision of poverty eradication, job creation and enhancing economic growth,’ he said.
The government has planned to construct the second Padma bridge at Paturia and Goalanda points with an initial estimated cost of Tk 13,121.38 crore.
The construction period of the second Padma bridge was set from July 2011 to June 2017.
The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, the Netherlands and China were proposed to finance a total of Tk 9,870 crore to this project.
‘If the World Bank, as the
lead development partner, agrees to finance the second Padma bridge project, then other development partners will subsequently come up to finance the project,’ ERD official said.
‘The government is expecting that the World Bank will approve the second Padma bridge project under the new budget for 2013-14 fiscal year,’ he said.
The World Bank earlier cancelled its $1.2 billion funding to the Padma bridge project due to allegation of corruption by the government officials.
Among the major projects, government has proposed the World Bank to finance constructing a tunnel under the Karnafully river project at a cost of Tk 4,500 crore, Bangladesh environmental management through the river basin and eco-village development project for Tk 1,065.32 crore, formulation of co-management rules for management of protected areas in Bangladesh project costing Tk 1,065.32 crore, construction of container depot near Dhirasram railway station” for Tk 1,200 crore, construction of BRTA Line-3 corridor (Uttara-Mohakhali-Kakrail-Paltan-Gulshan-Keraniganj) with link to Sadarghat, construction of shelters and academic buildings at all educational Institutions for Tk 812.00 crore and leveraging ICT for growth, employment and governance at a cost of Tk 571.97 crore.
-With New Age input
