UNB, Dhaka :
The government has urged China again to sign the framework and loan agreements by mid-June for funding the Padma Bridge Rail Link project to facilitate the launching of the project by the current fiscal year.
Acting Secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) sent a letter to Vice President of EXIM Bank of China Sun Ping on May 21 in this regard.
Earlier, meetings were held between the Exim Bank of China delegation and Bangladesh delegation at the ERD and also at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) over the loan agreements.
The letter mentions that Principal Coordinator on SDGs at the Prime Minister’s Office Md Abul Kalam Azad has requested China
through Exim Bank Vice President and his delegation that the framework agreement and the loan agreement needs to be signed by mid-June to start this project within this fiscal year which ends on June 30 next.
He also invited Chinese Exim Bank Vice President to Bangladesh to remain present while signing of the agreement. “We hope this flagship project will bear the symbol of long standing friendship between the two countries.”
According to sources at the Railways Ministry, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Finance Minister earlier wrote separate letters to China’s president Xi Jinping and Commerce Minister, requesting speedy funding for the project.
The Economic Relations Department (ERD) sent a loan proposal of USD 3,138.75 million to the Chinese embassy in Dhaka on September 15, 2016.
Once constructed, this railway will directly link the capital Dhaka with the south-western region of Bangladesh.
This project is included in the ‘Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Investment and Production Capacity Cooperation’, which was signed by China’s Commerce Minister and Bangladesh’s Finance Minister on October 14, 2016, when Xi Jinping visited Bangladesh.
Besides, Bangladesh has asked China Railway Group Ltd (CREC) to start the construction on the Padma Bridge rail link from Dhaka to Jessore.
On August 8 last year, the government signed an agreement with a Chinese construction company to implement the ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link Project’.
CREC, a Chinese state-owned firm, has been awarded the contract, worth $ 4.44 billion, to build a railway line passing through Bangladesh’s largest bridge, currently under construction.
The government has urged China again to sign the framework and loan agreements by mid-June for funding the Padma Bridge Rail Link project to facilitate the launching of the project by the current fiscal year.
Acting Secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) sent a letter to Vice President of EXIM Bank of China Sun Ping on May 21 in this regard.
Earlier, meetings were held between the Exim Bank of China delegation and Bangladesh delegation at the ERD and also at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) over the loan agreements.
The letter mentions that Principal Coordinator on SDGs at the Prime Minister’s Office Md Abul Kalam Azad has requested China
through Exim Bank Vice President and his delegation that the framework agreement and the loan agreement needs to be signed by mid-June to start this project within this fiscal year which ends on June 30 next.
He also invited Chinese Exim Bank Vice President to Bangladesh to remain present while signing of the agreement. “We hope this flagship project will bear the symbol of long standing friendship between the two countries.”
According to sources at the Railways Ministry, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Finance Minister earlier wrote separate letters to China’s president Xi Jinping and Commerce Minister, requesting speedy funding for the project.
The Economic Relations Department (ERD) sent a loan proposal of USD 3,138.75 million to the Chinese embassy in Dhaka on September 15, 2016.
Once constructed, this railway will directly link the capital Dhaka with the south-western region of Bangladesh.
This project is included in the ‘Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Investment and Production Capacity Cooperation’, which was signed by China’s Commerce Minister and Bangladesh’s Finance Minister on October 14, 2016, when Xi Jinping visited Bangladesh.
Besides, Bangladesh has asked China Railway Group Ltd (CREC) to start the construction on the Padma Bridge rail link from Dhaka to Jessore.
On August 8 last year, the government signed an agreement with a Chinese construction company to implement the ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link Project’.
CREC, a Chinese state-owned firm, has been awarded the contract, worth $ 4.44 billion, to build a railway line passing through Bangladesh’s largest bridge, currently under construction.
