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The two sides would sign the loan deal for Mongla port development during the 4-day visit of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman that starts today (Tuesday), Ministry of Finance Affairs (MoFA) officials said Monday.
Besides, Dhaka is also likely to ink another grants deal with Beijing for getting financial support to build a hospital in northern Nilphamari district.
In addition, Bangladesh and China are expected to sign around 10 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) covering green energy, electric vehicles, solar power, media cooperation, training programmes and development of the Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone in Chittagong.
The last interim government approved the 1000-bed Nilphamari Hospital project with a total estimated cost of Tk 24.59 billion where Chinese government grant assistance is earmarked at Tk 22.80 billion and Bangladesh government will share Tk 1.79 billion.
During the visit of the PM, Bangladesh might seek support to some projects and programmes worth nearly $6.0 billion from China, says a senior MoFA official.
“Some fresh priority projects have been included in the list of Bangladesh’s needs and our PM will seek support for those ones on his visit from Tuesday,” the official adds.
“Although 27 projects were included in the priority-project list during the visit of the Chinese premier to Bangladesh in 2016, in the meantime, there is lot of changes over the last 10 years and our development priority has also changed. So, the priority-project list has been updated and the financial support will be requested for those from Beijing,” he says.
Earlier, Bangladesh had requested China to expedite development assistance for 27 priority projects originally agreed upon during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s historic visit to Dhaka in October 2016.
The initial 2016 agreement involved a $20-billion foreign-aid package intended to fund infrastructure, energy, and communications megaprojects.
The “Development and modernisation of Mongla Port project” was approved by the last interim government with a cost of Tk 40.68 billion ($400 million) for which China assured of adequate funds.
Additionally, a project worth over Tk 15.38 billion is dedicated to Pashur Channel dredging to maintain port navigability.
Meanwhile, during the Bangladesh PM’s ongoing visit, Beijing may propose introducing Panda Bonds and China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System as part of efforts to internationalise the yuan.
When asked, government officials were reluctant to clarify Bangladesh’s position on the financial issue.
Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade/indias-tata-electronics-hit-by-cyber-breach-claiming-to-expose-apple-tesla-trade-secrets
