List of construction projects to be executed under PPP

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Munima Sultana A list has been prepared to propose potential road, rail and bridge construction projects to be implemented under public-private partnership (PPP) as many important projects of the three divisions under the communications ministry could not be implemented due to fund constraints. Officials said under the three divisions, a good number of important projects have been lying idle for several years due to not getting allocation although these received approval from the higher authorities in time taking into account their importance. They said the ministry has taken the decision to prepare the list as in recent days it has received proposals from a good number of foreign investors to invest in the infrastructure development - mainly rail, road and bridge construction. "Investors from many Asian countries like Sri Lanka and Malaysia have already shown interest in investing in infrastructure projects like expressway and mono rail. But we could not take decision against their proposals in absence of any guideline," said a senior ministry official. The ministry recently held a meeting in participation of officials of all the three divisions and gave directions to the officials concerned to prepare the list showing potential PPP projects for helping it take decision in this connection. Road Division Secretary Mozammel Haque Khan chaired the meeting. The officials said during the meeting, all the divisions identified some projects that can be implemented under PPP including Dhaka-Chittagong expressway, tunnels under the river Karnaphuli and from Jahangir Gate to Rokeya Sarani in the city. They said feasibility studies of many of these projects have either been completed or are undergoing. Other projects that came for discussion as potential PPP schemes are Dhaka-Aricha four-lane road, western bypass, Turag-Ruhitpur Baravita road and multi-modal terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.