Rift over bridge unlikely to be removed soon

The remarks of the top World Bank (WB) official in Dhaka leave no doubt that the tangle over the Padma bridge project funding is not going to be clear anytime soon, even though the government is hoping for quick resolution, reports bdnews24.com. The project to build country's longest bridge ran into troubled waters after the WB suspended fund for the project since allegations of corruption surfaced. The global lender is supposed to give $1.2 billion for the $2.9-billion project. As the uncertainty looms, WB's resident representative Allen Goldstein met finance secretary Mohammad Tarique Wednesday. Asked whether the complication over the funding will be removed soon, the WB official said the problem cannot be solved 'overnight'. "It's a big project, big deal, big money," he said and added that there must be transparency in spending the fund. A finance ministry official, seeking anonymity, said the finance minister has received a reply of the letter sent to the WB on the project. "There is nothing to be hopeful about," said the official, who preferred anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media on the issue. Finance minister A M A Muhith has been repeatedly saying that the complexities over the project will be removed soon. Muhith had said even late last month that the funding row will be settled by January. The WB, the coordinator of four lending agencies, on October 10 suspended funding the scheme following allegations of corruption in river dredging, appointment of consultants and selections of pre-qualified contractors in the project. It wanted further investigation into the allegations and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has started a probe into the matter. Canadian authorities on September 03 began investigating employees of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc for possible corruption in the bidding process for the bridge, following a referral from WB officials about alleged corruption. The government appealed to the WB to review its decision on funding.