Hunt for foreign funds gets going

Much-hyped Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project (TRCMRP) is up for consideration at a meeting today as a government hunt for foreign funds gets going for bankrolling two dozen development schemes.
Officials say health division promptly shortlists its five projects--like construction of hospitals, strengthening the Venom Research Centre and upgrading district and upazila facilities-as the hunt for funds starts.
The Economic Relations Division (ERD) is set to convene a meeting of the Foreign Aid Search Committee today (Wednesday) to finalise external assistance for funding these and nearly two dozen other projects.
With ERD Secretary Md Shahriar Kader Siddiqui in the chair, the meeting is also expected to review some projects discussed in the previous session, officials said.
Eyeing their share of the aid pie, the Health Services Division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has already shortlisted its five development projects.
Officials at the ERD say projects that are still at a very preliminary stage are usually placed at such meetings. The sessions review the rationale for the projects, the prospects of securing foreign assistance, and any follow-up on previous discussions held with development partners or donor countries.
They have said the first phase of the much-hyped 'Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project (TRCMRP) Phase-1' will be discussed at the meeting.
Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), under the Ministry of Water Resources, will implement the project at an estimated cost of $747.25 million.
The scheme aims to restore, reclaim and develop 170.87-square-kilometre land, with around $550.62 million of the funds expected from Chinese loans.
Two more major projects of the Ministry of Water Resources titled 'Adaptive River System Management Project (ARSMP)' and 'Metro Dhaka Water Security and Resilience Programme (BWDB Component, Phase-1)' are also to be placed in the meeting.
The meeting will also review the Bangladesh-China Friendship General Hospital, Chattogram, to be implemented with Chinese grants worth Tk 21.39 billion. The equipment component of the project alone will receive Tk 6.09 billion in grant assistance from the same source, officials said.
Also on the list are three other projects of the Health Services Division - the strengthening of the Venom Research Centre Bangladesh (VRCB), Strengthening District Level Hospitals in Bangladesh, and Upazila Health Complex Strengthening. All three will be implemented by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Apart from health-sector schemes, the list features a number of large projects from other ministries and divisions.
Under the Local Government Division, proposals include Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation Including Waste Management in 31 small Pourashavas, to be implemented by the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE).
The division has also proposed Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LOGIC) - Phase II and Construction of Under 100-metre Bridges on Rural Roads Project (UHBRP), both to be implemented by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED).
The Power Division has submitted Transmission Grid Network Expansion and Modernization in Mymensingh Region, to be undertaken by Power Grid Company of Bangladesh PLC, and Raipura 150MW (AC) Grid-Tied Solar Power Plant Project, to be implemented by Ashuganj Power Station Company Limited.
The Ministry of Shipping has placed a project for the procurement of four new vessels - two chemical/product oil tankers of 40,000DWT each and two bulk carriers of 40,000-50,000DWT each - through G2G arrangements by the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC).
The Ministry of Railways has listed two projects: Construction of a new Inland Container Depot (ICD) near Dhirasram Railway Station and Implementation of Electric Traction on the Narayanganj-Dhaka-Joydebpur section.
The Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry has put forward the Development of Cox's Bazar Airport (Phase-II), which will be implemented by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).
In addition, the ICT Division has proposed Strengthening Financial Inclusion with Innovation and Digital Transformation, to be carried out by a2i.
The Ministry of Agriculture has submitted Smart Cold Storage Establishment in Bangladesh through the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM).
Education-sector projects include Establishment of 4IR Research and Innovation Park under the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at BUET, and Establishing and Strengthening Academic, Research and Training Facilities of Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU) under the University Grants Commission.
Finally comes the Bridges Division with its proposal on the Construction of the 2nd Muktarpur Bridge on the Dhaka-Munshiganj Road over the River Dhaleswari, to be implemented by the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA).
The ERD Secretary, Mr Shahriar Kader Siddiqui, says, "The projects are still at a very early stage. There is nothing to say until everything is finalised."

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