Korea has shown interest to invest in 10 public-private partnership (PPP) projects in the aviation, rail and power sectors under government-to-government arrangements. However, Bangladesh sought investment in 14 projects in the rail, road, power and textile sectors at the first Bangladesh-Korea joint platform meeting held in Seoul last month. Sources said public and private delegates placed their proposals during the meeting. “We have discussed all the projects during the meeting to explore the possibilities and find difficulties in implementing them under PPP,” said an official of PPP Authority who attended the meeting. He said the two sides are expected to finalise the projects within next two or three months. Under the Bangladesh-Korea joint platform, the delegates held one-to-one meetings on the projects proposed by different agencies such as Bangladesh Railway, Roads and Highways Department, Power Grid Company Bangladesh Limited, Narayanganj City Corporation and Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation. The meeting was a follow-up to the memorandum of understanding signed between the PPP Authority and the Korean government in April in Dhaka. The PPP Authority and Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation (KIND) hosted the meeting. The PPPA officials said the meeting mainly focused on the projects which could be implemented speedily after getting approval from the cabinet committee on economic affairs. Korean companies which attended the meeting showed good interest in their proposed projects as they are working in Bangladesh either with different partners or under different projects, they added. The Korean side showed interest in the projects including Bhanga-Payra port railway project of BR, light rapid transit project of Narayanganj City Corporation, East-West Elevated Expressway project of Bangladesh Bridge Authority and Khan Jahan Ali airport project of Civil Aviation Authority and Chattogram Bay Terminal development project of Chattogram Port Authority. Besides, they were interested in four projects of Power Grid Company of Bangladesh and one each project of Bangladesh Power Development Board and Dhaka Power Distribution Company. At the meeting, RHD proposed two expressway projects on Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway and Tongi-Pachdona Road while Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation proposed four mills development projects. BR sought Korean investment in building circular railway around Dhaka, construction of railway building in Chattogram and development of some railway hospitals. Power Grid Company of Bangladesh placed its two projects–Raojan-Mirsarai 230kv transmission line and Matarbari-Banshkhali-Madunaghat 400kv transmission line.
Source – Financial Express.
