India Releases Full Padma Bridge Grant, Asks Bangladesh to Start New Loan Implementation
16 July 2015
The full $200 million grant pledged by India to Bangladesh for construction of Padma Bridge under a $1 billion loan agreement has been disbursed. An official from Bangladesh's Economic Relations Division confirms release of the final $50 million tranche of the grant in late June 2015.
India, through a meeting between India High Commissioner Pankaj Saran and Bangladesh Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque in Dhaka, also asked Bangladesh to begin initiatives for implementation of a $2 billion loan agreement signed during India Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit in June 2015. India also requested inclusion of two more projects under this agreement: the construction of the Ishwardi Inland Container Depot (ICD) and the 30-kilometre Bilunia-Feni railway track.
Under the new loan agreement, India and Bangladesh agreed to implement thirteen projects, including upgrading of the Syedpur railway workshop to a coach factory, construction of a 51-km road from Ashuganj river port to Akhaura, and construction of an inland container terminal at Ashuganj.
The Padma Bridge is a multipurpose road-rail bridge across the Padma River which the Government of Bangladesh plans to build by 2018, connecting the country's southern districts to Dhaka. It is being implemented with $3 billion of the country’s own funds complemented by a $1 billion line of credit announced by former Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, during his visit to Dhaka in 2011.
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