Govt mulls writing WB to settle Padma bridge financing

Finance Minister AMA Muhith said on Thursday the government is considering writing to the World Bank chief to settle the issue of the Padma bridge project financing.

“The government is now discussing about the strategy and content of the letter,” the finance minister told reporters at his Secretariat office in the morning.

The minister's comment on the latest development of the Padma bridge project came when Xiaoyu Zhao, the vice president (operations 1) of Asian Development Bank, met Muhith at his office Thursday.

Earlier, highly placed sources said the government hoped that the WB president would settle the Padma bridge financing issue before he ends his tenure with the institution in June.

Another official said earlier the government has also been negotiating with several officials of the USA, the major shareholder of the WB, so that the lending agency settles the issue quickly.

Besides that, the government has also been continuing talks through the WB executive director who represents Bangladesh and some other South Asian countries.

An official at the WB Dhaka office said earlier if the Canadian government report does not support the corruption allegation, the issue might be settled soon.

In another development, the Canadian government is likely to submit to the WB the findings of an investigation into the alleged corruption in appointing consulting firm for the mega bridge project by this month, a finance ministry official said.

The WB in August last year postponed its $1.2 billion fund for the $2.9 billion Padma bridge project on graft allegations.

In January, the institution increased the loan effectuation deadline by six months for the second time.

On Wednesday, the finance minister after a meeting with Li Jun, new Chinese ambassador to Dhaka, stressed that the government wants to finalise the agreement by October this year and start the project work by November no matter whether the financier is the WB or any country.

The Padma bridge is one of the main election pledges of the present government.