It comes as a significant fresh push for regional connectivity as the World Bank has agreed to provide $750 million to Bangladesh government on salvaging the struggling BBIN corridor meant for connecting four South Asian nations, said a media report on Saturday quoting officials of the Economic Relations Division (ERD). As envisioned by the movers, BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal) is a regional transport initiative for developing a sub-regional protocol for a cost-effective, efficient and seamless multi-modal transport system linking the four countries. A deal in this regard was signed in June 2015 at the Bhutanese capital of Thimphu to facilitate cross-border movement of passenger and cargo vehicles.
However, Bhutan later retreated citing environmental concerns of the tourist-haven Himalayan country, but the three other countries ratified the agreement. So, after the pullout of Bhutan, the BBIN move slowed and struggled for years as it has yet to be functional after more than six years of the deal. Since the BBIN is a very potential corridor for trade and investment promotion in this sub-region, Bangladesh wants to enhance its capacity and infrastructure for facilitating the trans-border traffic initiative. The signing of the loan agreement with the World Bank is likely to be held in June this year, said ERD officials. According to the Washington-based lender, seamless connectivity between Bangladesh and India would increase the former’s real income by 17 per cent while it would increase India’s real income by 8.0 per cent. It will also offer to assist in improving port efficiency, customs modernisation, and trade facilitation and upgrading regional-connectivity infrastructures.
It is to be noted that the lender has proposed to provide the loan in four components under the project. They include upgrading Benapole, Burimari and Bhomra land ports for enhancing their foreign trade-handling capacity; developing customs houses in seaports and land ports; conducting reforms and modernisation of the country’s tariff and trade policies, upgrading a highway to improve the cross-border trade and business and to enhance the reforms in trade policy, tariff policy, National Trade and Transport Facilitation Action Plan. The Sylhet-Charkhai-Sheola-Sutarkandi highway will be a part of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) road corridor.
We believe it is possible to realise our huge trade potential by implementing the BBIN deal and commencement of the discussion for a multi-modal regional connectivity protocol. We want our interest to be rightfully protected.
