Road, rail in focus under $ 50b investment plan

Much of the focus would be on development of road and rail infrastructures in Chittagong-Cox's Bazar and Dhaka-Sylhet corridors under the around US$ 50 billion investment plan during Chinese President Xi Jinping's ensuing visit to Bangladesh, sources concerned said.
They said the two friendly countries would work out investment of more than $20 billion for constructing the Karnafuli tunnel, a marine drive, an elevated expressway and rail connectivity in the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar corridor and a four-lane road and a dual-guage railway line in the Dhaka-Sylhet corridor.
They also said that the investment criteria for these projects would later be dealt with by the concerned agencies and companies as some Chinese companies have already been involved in completing groundwork with the agencies concerned.
An official said these would be part of the deal on around $ 50 billion to be signed during the Chinese President's visit as China wants to help in developing a multimodal transportation system in Bangladesh.
A further $30 billion will be spent for ICT, power and port projects, among others, officials said.
XI Jinping will arrive in Dhaka in the morning on October 14 and leave the next morning during which he is scheduled to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the total investment plan.
During the 24-hour stay, the Chinese President will call on President Abdul Hamid and pay homage to the martyrs at the National Mausoleum in Savar.
He will also call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when the MoU is expected to be signed alongside the work on the Karnaphuli Tunnel and the China Special Economic Zone to be inaugurated.
The government has earlier sent more than 20 project proposals to the Chinese Embassy through Economic Relations Division (ERD), but negotiation for more than $ 1.16 billion has been completed.
The sources said total investment plan between Bangladesh and China has been focused on sub-regional connectivity and regional growth in mainly five areas including the infrastructural developments.
They said the MoU would lead to activating the framework agreement on cooperation and investment.
It is learnt that the concerned agencies will later work on the investment plan to fix whether it is to be implemented under the public-private partnership or on the basis of technology transfer in next five years.
They said apart from the above areas, the world's second largest economy also showed interest in investing in a bigger way for development of information and communication technology following its policy to outsource ICT industries that include setting up of ICT industrial park.
Regional analysts said China's different policies like 'One Belt One Road' and 'Made in China 2025' have also made Bangladesh important in the region.
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