The Japan International Cooperation Agency or JICA has signed a loan agreement with the Bangladesh government to provide 178.223 billion yen (about $1.59 billion) for six infrastructure projects.
Six projects are: expansion of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport ($683 million), construction and repair of Kanchpur, Meghna and Gumti bridges ($469 million), development of a mass rapid transit system in Dhaka ($49.8 million), Matarbari coal-fired power plant ($95.6 million), construction of an underground power substation in Dhaka ($182 million) and a water resources development project ($105.5 million).
“Bangladesh has attracted increasing attention from overseas enterprises including Japanese firms due to competitive labour costs, an abundant workforce and a potential market size as an upcoming manufacture base and an investment destination,” JICA said.
JICA said it would continue to support efforts in Bangladesh to remove barriers to further economic growth and overcome social vulnerability.
The concessional loans are to be repaid in 30 years, with a grace period of 10 years.
(1 Japanese Yen = 0.0089 US Dollar)
Source: bdnews24