Execution of eight projects: Dhaka requests Beijing to expedite process

Execution of eight projects: Dhaka requests Beijing to expedite process

MIR MOSTAFIZUR RAHAMAN | The Financial Express  September 25, 2019

Dhaka has recently requested Beijing to accelerate processing of documents of eight projects, which were planned to be implemented with Chinese grant assistance.

The projects are yet to be started because of the delay in processing.

According to official correspondence between the departments concerned of the two countries, proposals of three projects were sent to China in 2017. Besides, four project proposals were sent in 2018, and one in May last.

The proposals on projects sent in 2017, were — ‘Procurement of nine mobile scanning systems for Customs’ under the Internal Resources Division, ‘Arsenic mitigation using treatment technology in Bangladesh’ under the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), and ‘Establishment of international exhibition and promotion centre for textile and jute’ under the Ministry of Textile and Jute.

The projects, whose proposals were sent last year, are — ‘Capacity building of private vocational institutes for human resources development’ under the Technical and Madrasha Education Division, ‘Disaster management command and control vehicle system’ under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, and ‘China-Bangladesh friendship professional training centre project’ and ‘Bangladesh distance education development project’ under the Secondary and Higher Education Division.

Proposal for the project titled ‘Feasibility study for the construction of tunnel under the river Jamuna’ was sent to the Chinese government in May last.

When contacted, a senior official of the Ministry of Finance told the FE that the government has sent a letter to Chinese government last month, requesting it to expedite the processing of documents of the projects mentioned above.

“We feel China is sincere in providing funds for the projects. But due to some procedural complexities things are not progressing at the expected pace.”

He also pointed out that changes in some positions in the Chinese departments concerned, who were processing the loan proposals, might also be responsible for the delay.

China pledged to provide over US$ 14 billion for 27 key projects during the visit of President Xi Jinping to Bangladesh in 2016.

mirmostafiz@yahoo.com