Chinese Exim Bank to give $ 705.10m in loan

The Exim Bank of China agreed Thursday to provide US$ 705.10 million as loan for constructing the country's first tunnel under the Karnaphuli River.
A delegation of the bank sat with the Economic Relations Division (ERD) and Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) on the day and completed negotiations over funding the tunnel project.
Sources, however, said the bank remains rigid on 2.0 per cent interest rate, although the government has been requesting them to lower it.
They said of the total amount, US$ 300 million would be concessional loan while the rest would be preferential loan.
The BBA has taken a move to construct the Tk 84.46-billion Karnaphuli tunnel construction project after a feasibility study was conducted in 2013.
It also inked a deal with the China Communication Construction Company Ltd (CCCC) in June last year in line with a memorandum of understanding signed during  Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to China to construct the Karnaphuli tunnel under government-to-government arrangement in June 2014.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on November 24, 2015 approved the project involving Tk 84.46 billion. Of the total cost, the government will provide Tk 36.47 billion.
Sources said efforts to negotiate with the Exim Bank were made with an aim to inaugurate the project during the upcoming visit of the Chinese President in mid-October.
They, however, could not confirm about signing of the agreement with the bank during the visit.
The 3.4-kilometre passageway was found economically viable by the same company proposing to construct it with Navy College at one side and Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) and Karnaphuli Fertiliser Company (KAFCO) at other side.
It is likely to connect Chittagong city with the proposed deep-sea port and Cox's Bazar reducing the distance significantly.
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