BRI and Bangladesh

China, enjoying a huge surplus money, is promoting Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in order to not only utilise its money but also consolidate its economic might, promote trade and pursue great power diplomacy through massive infrastructure building. BRI envisages greater connectivity with Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Pakistan as with the rest of the world. Very recently, the BRI issue has once again become a talk of the town as it is being discussed by various stakeholders in meetings and seminars. This shows an apparent support to the BRI at a time when Bangladesh needs external financing for implementing its megaprojects.

Bangladesh joined the BRI talks when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Bangladesh in 2016 and pledged $40 billion for building infrastructures. Some big projects are being implemented in Bangladesh. Proponents of the BRI see it as a window of opportunity for the country for being a part of global connectivity. Those who oppose or have at least reservations about it, believe the BRI might eventually turn into a debt trap for a country like Bangladesh. However, the stakeholders emphasised maintaining caution while accessing the Chinese loan and insisted that any initiative that goes against national interests should be avoided.

Meanwhile, China has turned down a Bangladesh proposal to fund a major four-lane road project. China has reportedly requested the Bangladesh authorities to concentrate on timely execution of 27 projects for which it pledged more than $25 billion. China had pledged the money during President Xi Jinping's 2016 visit. Of late, Bangladesh requested China to fund the 'Improvement of Barishal-Patuakhali-Kuakata Road to a Four-lane Highway Project' and sought $535.92 million for its implementation. The planned four-lane highway would ensure a safe road communications between Dhaka and Kuakata through Padma Multipurpose Bridge. However, China's latest gesture shows that Bangladesh needs to improve operational efficiency in handling and implementing large infrastructure projects. The government should sit with the stakeholders to identify projects properly and develop oversight mechanism to ensure their smooth and transparent implementation for the sake of serving the best interest of the people.

Mohammad Zonaed Emran

A banker, Dhaka