Bangladesh will seek about $ 4 billion Chinese loan for six specific projects during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s China visit, the foreign minister has said.
Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, briefing journalists before the visit on Wednesday, said the projects were expected to be discussed in a formal bilateral meeting.
The Premier will leave Dhaka for China Kunming on Friday on a six-day official visit to China that Bangladesh expects “to add new dynamism” to the bilateral relations.
A 70-member business delegation will accompany the Prime Minister.
Hasina will leave Kunming for Beijing on Sunday, where she will have official talks with her Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang.
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A 1,320 megawatt coal-fired power plant at Kalapara Upazila in Patuakhali district, Rajshahi WASA water treatment plant project, and multilane tunnels beneath the Karnaphuli River would be among the specific projects to be discussed.
Besides, a second railway bridge in the Kalurghat area of Chittagong on the Karnaphuli, establishing a railway-network through Chittagong-Ramu-Cox’s Bazar and Ramu-Gundhum, and Info-government project-phase III are also on the list.
The foreign minister, however, said the construction of the Sonadia deep seaport was not among the six specific projects, mainly related to infrastructure development and power generation.
He, however, said Sonadia deep seaport project could figure in discussions during the visit.
China is willing to contribute in the vital deep seaport project, according to its ambassador in Dhaka Li Jun.
He had earlier said that Beijing was also waiting to know Dhaka’s decision on the launching of Bangladesh’s first satellite – Bangabandhu Satellite – another major project that interests the Chinese.
The Foreign Minister said there was a possibility of signing a number of MoUs and exchange of letters. A joint statement would be issued after the bilateral meeting on June 9, he said.
However, he did not specify the subjects of the MoUs.
He said their signing would open up “new avenues of economic cooperation” in bilateral relations.
China established diplomatic and military relations with Bangladesh 40 years ago.
People-to-people exchanges had crossed 70,000 last year and the two-way trade soared to over $ 10 billion.
With new reform measures getting under way, China is looking at investing an additional $ 500 billion in other countries, importing goods over $ 10 trillion, and sending 400 million tourists abroad over the next five years.
The Chinese ambassador in Dhaka had earlier said that, as a neighbour, “Bangladesh should have a good share of it”.
The foreign minister said the visit would help strengthen the existing close and “comprehensive partnership of cooperation”.
Junior minister M Shahriar Alam and foreign secretary M Shahidul Haque were present during the press conference at the foreign ministry.
Source: Bd news24
