Two Chinese state-owned companies bid for the largest-ever Bangladesh rail project, costing US$4.9 billion, that will connect Dhaka with Pyra Port at the backwater southern coast.
Official sources have said China Railway Design Corporation (CRDC) and China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd sent a proposal to Bangladesh Railway (BR) recently on the latest megaproject under supplier credit.
However, the Economic Relations Division (ERD) suggests that Bangladesh Railway (BR) goes for concessional loan first before seeking supplier credit that involves higher interest.
As per government policy, projects should be implemented with supplier credit "only if all efforts for mobilising concessional loans are exhausted," the division told the BR in a recent letter.
"If the BR has the capacity to repay the loan, it can go for implementing the project under supplier credit when concessional loans will be unavailable," the letter reads.
As per the Allocation of Business of the Rules of Businesses 1996, the ERD is responsible for processing loans under G-to-G projects, the letter reminds, adding that in this case the ERD has no scope to process the loan.
Headquartered in Tianjin city, CRDC in its proposal said the proposed railway project will become the next large-scale infrastructure project to attract worldwide attention after the Padma Rail Link project.
The route follows the highway corridor from Bhanaga to Kuakata across seven districts. The total length is 214.91 kilometers including the main line of 190.11 kilometers and the branch line stretching over 34.80 kilometers.
There will be 19 stations with maintenance facilities at the Pyra Port station, the CRDC proposed. The speed will be 160 kilometers per hour for passenger trains and 80 kilometers an hour for freighters.
According to the proposal JM Consultancy Ltd will be the local partner of the project with 13.74- percent FIRR at the rate of 12 DR.
The CRDC says in its letter that it ranks 1st in the top 100 China engineering consulting enterprises and previously completed the job of conducting the feasibility study and detailed design of Dhaka- Chittagong high-speed railway project in 2021.
Its partner, China Harbor Engineering Company Limited (CHEC), at present is undertaking over hundreds of international projects whose total contract amount is over 35 billion US dollars, it has mentioned showing interest in constructing the Bhanga-Pyra project.
Another Chinese company, Power Construction Corporation of China, also expressed its interest in getting the contract for the project works.
The BR aims to construct the rail line from Faridpur's Bhanga to Payra via Madaripur and Barishal by June 2029. It prepared the preliminary development-project proposal in 2021 in estimating a cost of over Tk 417.97 billion of which over Tk 321.29 billion needs to be injected through external sources.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
