Finance Minister AMA Muhith has ruled out Russian and Chinese proposals to construct Padma bridge.
“My position is very clear. I am not prepared to accept any fixed contractor. We’ve invited international bidders. That’s my view,” Muhith said Thursday.
He was speaking to journalists after Russian Ambassador in Dhaka Alexander A Nikolaev met him at his secretariat office and placed the proposal.
The envoy said the contractors from his country will build the bridge and the Russian government will finance the project, said Muhith.
A Chinese company on Tuesday met the Communications minister and proposed to invest $2.4 billion in the Padma bridge project.
Muhith also said that the government is going to construct the bridge with its own financing. At this stage, government-to-government credit is not acceptable to Bangladesh.
The finance minister said its main cause is that when a private party comes through a government, the contractor would be fixed. But the government does not want any fixed contractor now, rather it is putting the highest preference on international tendering.
Muhith said it is not only on technological context but also because of a corruption allegation has been raised about the project. He said they think international bidding is essential to avoid corruption.
The minister said if there is any deviation from this stance of international bidding, the government may face criticism over corruption.
Muhith said he has gone through a summary of the Chinese proposal and found that in it the contractor is fixed.
The finance minister sounded his views about this and said if any proposal comes through the Economic Relations Division (ERD), he will convey his opinion to the higher authorities on the basis of this stance.
Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran met with Muhith on Thursday and handed over a cheque of $50 million out of $200 million Indian grant.
After the meeting, Pankaj Saran told reporters that it was the third installment of the $200 million grant and the remaining $50 million would be given soon.
The Indian high commissioner said the government can use the fund in any project and there will be no strings from India.
Source: The Daily Star
The finance minister told the press that the whole amount will be spent in the Padma bridge project.