Bangladesh is in long wait for confirmation of funding for at least five projects as China has yet to firm up the assured loans, sources said Saturday about a stalemate on the Beijing credit line.
Dhaka has looked to a concrete response from Beijing over the last couple of years regarding the top-priority five projects, assured earlier of bankrolling for execution, they said.
Delays over confirmation of the loans has already affected execution of those five projects in time although relevant government agencies have taken preparation to jumpstart work, government officials say.
China, which has held out a hefty credit line and is assisting in execution of numerous major infrastructure-development schemes in Bangladesh, like in many other countries, has recently assured of funding only two of the five projects although it had pledged to provide the financial support by the year 2020, says a senior Ministry of Finance (MoF) official.
"We are communicating with the Chinese government over the years. But the confirmation of the loans even for the above-mentioned two assured projects is yet to be finalised," he told the FE, requesting anonymity.
"Beijing has assured us of providing US$276 million worth of loan for Rajshahi WASA project and another $125 million for bankrolling the Six TV Stations Improvement project of Bangladesh Television," another MoF official said.
Three other projects are struggling with funding delays, as China pledged for bankrolling those schemes more than a couple of years ago, he added.
The three other projects in the queue for financing are: Establishing digital connectivity with the proposed $400- million support from China, Mongla port jetty installation project with the proposed $353 million support, and the water supply and distribution system from Dasherkandi water- treatment plant.
Dhaka WASA has already set up the Dasherkandi sewage-treatment plant by borrowing $273.4 million from Chinese EXIM bank, without installing the relevant supply and distribution system.
A DWASA official says it is a crying need to install the supply and distribution system aligning with the Dasherkandi sewage-treatment plant. So they need the fund confirmation immediately.
Earlier, the government had shared a list of 27 priority projects with China in 2016 for getting finance within five years.
During Chinese president Xi Jinping's visit to Bangladesh in October 2016, the 27 projects were finalised. The implementation of these projects was supposed to be completed by 2020.
An Economic Relations Division (ERD) official said China signed a $1.13 billion worth of loan deal in October last year for constructing the Dhaka-Ashulia elevated expressway, one of the megaprojects the neo-rich Asian country helps in Bangladesh, including the iconic Padma Bridge.
This loan has been signed on more than one year after the last loan signed with China, he said.
"We are requesting the Chinese government repeatedly for confirming the loans of the pipeline projects. We may get $276 million for RWASA and $125 million for six TV stations upgradation project shortly," the ERD official said.
He says they are also requesting Beijing to confirm finances for the remaining three projects, too.
"We are hopeful of getting the loans for all the projects in the pipeline shortly," the ERD official says, expecting a breakthrough.
China is one of the largest bilateral development partners of Bangladesh as it has so far confirmed credits worth $7.80 billion for eight projects.
