Japan backs Bangladesh coal-fired
The government of Bangladesh has signed a $2.67 billion loan agreement with Japan for the implementation of multiple infrastructure projects across Dhaka.
Under the agreement, Japan will finance 2 development projects and provide a budget support loan for Covid-19 in Bangladesh.
The infrastructure projects to be funded include:
- Matarbari Coal-Fired Power Plant (1200MW) — $1.2 billion
- Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project (Line 1) — $1.1 billion
The Matarbari power plant is currently improving stable power supply by 2 units, each having 600MW capacity at Matarbari in Maheshkhali Upazila under Cox’s Bazar district. As of October 2021, the project achieved physical progress of 49% and financial progress of 51%.
The Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project (Line 1) is divided into 2 parts:
- from the Airport to Kamlapur
- Purbachal route (from Natun Bazar to Pitolganj depot)
The 19.9km airport route will have 12 underground stations while the 11.4km Purbachal route will have 9 overhead stations. The project will be implemented from 2019 to 2026.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) loan has a fixed 0.60% for construction with a 0.01% consulting services fee. The tenor of the loan is 30 years, with a 10-year grace period.
Signatories of the loan agreement were:
- Fatima Yasmin, Secretary for Economic Relations at Bangladesh's Ministry of Finance
- Yuho Hayakawa, chief representative for JICA
Additionally, an exchange of notes was signed with Ito Naoki, Ambassador of Japan.
The ministry expressed gratitude to the government of Japan for its involvement in several iconic mega projects in Bangladesh, including:
- Jamuna Railway Bridge (4.8KM)
- Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Terminal 3
- Matarbari Coal-Fired Power Plant (1200 MW)
- Matarbari Deep Sea Port
- Metro Rail Networks in Dhaka city
Present at the loan signing ceremony were senior officials from:
- Ministry of Finance:
- Finance Division
- Power Division
- Road, Transport and Highways Division
- Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited (CPGCBL)
- Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB)
- Roads and Highways Department (RHD)
- Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL)
- Additional officials of Bangladesh
- Representatives from the Embassy of Japan and JICA
IJGlobal reported in July (2019) that Bangladesh and JICA had signed a coal-fired loan to provide Japanese official development assistance (ODA) of up to ¥143.127 billion ($1.32bn) for the coal-fired power plant complex in Matarbari.
The project sponsors for the power plant include:
- Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh (CPGCBL)
- Sumitomo Corporation
Based on the IJGlobal asset database, Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Line 5 (35KM) and Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Line 6 (20KM) are both still in the pre-development and construction stage. The inauguration of line-6 is delayed due to Covid-19.
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