C T Online Desk: In a significant boost to infrastructure development in Bangladesh, South Korea has committed to providing $815 million in loans for the construction of the Kalurghat rail-cum-road bridge in Chattogram.
The loan agreement was signed between the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of Bangladesh and the Korean EXIM Bank in Dhaka on Thursday.
ERD Secretary Shahriar Kader Siddiky and Chairman and CEO of Korean EXIM Bank Hee Sung signed two separate loan agreements to fund the much-anticipated Kalurghat bridge project.
According to the agreements, the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) will provide a $724.73 million loan, while the Economic Development Promotion Facility (EDPF) will contribute $90.18 million.
The signing ceremony was attended, among others, by Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, State Minister Waseqa Ayesha, Railway State Minister Md Zillul Hakim, and Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Park Young-sik.
The Bangladesh Railway (BR) has recently undertaken a project at a cost of Tk 115.66 billion and is awaiting approval from the Planning Commission.
Out of this cost, BR proposes to allocate Tk 44.37 billion from the government’s internal resources, with the remaining Tk 71.28 billion to be sourced from the Korean lender as a project loan.
The project, titled “Construction work of the rail-cum-road bridge over Karnaphuli River at Kalurghat ” is expected to begin shortly and aims to be completed by December 2030.
