UNB, Sylhet :
Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said the World Bank’s revised position relating to the Padma Bridge vindicates the government’s decision to go it alone in funding its construction.
Muhith expressed this view in comments made to reporters while visiting the expansion and development work of the central Shaheed Minar of Sylhet on Saturday.
“Towards the end, the World Bank proposed a fresh tender for the Padma Bridge, but we did not agree and that’s why they left. Now they are repeatedly insisting that the Padma Bridge be built quickly,” he said, somewhat dismissively.
In its latest ‘Bangladesh Development Update’ report released last week, the World Bank urges the government to complete the megaproject “as early as possible”, with a view to improving connectivity through the country’s south-west.
It may be mentioned that the Washington-based multilateral lender was forced to pull out of its own funding commitment to the project, triggered by what was termed a ‘conspiracy of corruption’ uncovered by it in the rewarding of contracts involving key figures in the government.
‘Conspiracy of corruption’ is the key term on which the dispute hinged. Although it is meant to acknowledge that no corruption actually took place, what it signifies is a situation where the conditions were set for public officials to use their position for private gain, if only the project reached the funds-disbursal stage. Till the very end, the finance minister remained staunchly in favour of steps to revive the partnership between the government and the Bank over the Padma Bridge project, but this proved ultimately impossible.
Since then, Muhith has resorted to blaming the WB for wasting two years of the government.
Answering a question on hartal ahead of the one called for Sunday by a clutch of Islamist parties, Muhith said, “Hartal causes huge losses to the country’s economy, but is hardly observed nowadays. Rather some people refrain from going out fearing violence.” Asked about Khaleda Zia’s comment that no foreign direct investment is coming into the country, Muhith said that the BNP chairperson doesn’t feel the need to know about foreign investment in the country before making such comments. The most senior member of Sheikh Hasina’ s cabinet noted that FDI had actually increased in 2013.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, or UNCTAD’s latest World Investment Report, FDI in Bangladesh had indeed registered a 24 percent year-on-year increase in 2013.
Ashfaque Ahmed, Upazila Parishad chairman of Sadar upazila, Asad Uddin Ahmed, General Secretary of city Awami League, and other influential members of society were present at the venue for the duration of Muhith’s visit. .
