Japan will give a loan of 24.88 billion dollars to Bangladesh. At the rate of 119 taka 50 per dollar, the loan amount in Bangladeshi currency is 2 thousand 974 crore taka. A loan agreement has been signed between the government of Bangladesh and Japan.
The agreement has been signed under the ‘Yamuna Railway Bridge Construction Project and Chittagong Sewerage System Development Project’ under the first batch of the 45th ODA loan package of the Japanese government.
On Monday (November 25), the Bangladesh-Japan government signed an exchange note and loan agreement. Secretary of the Department of Economic Relations. Shahriar Quader Siddiqui signed the promissory note and loan agreement. Japanese Ambassador to Dhaka Iwama Kiminori signed the agreement on behalf of the Japanese government. The loan agreement was signed in the NEC-2 meeting room of the Department of Economic Relations.
The total estimated cost of the Yamuna Railway Bridge Construction Project is 16 thousand 780 crores. JICA loan for the project is Tk 12 thousand 149 crores). The implementation period of the project is from July 2016 to December 2025. The Japanese government has been providing funds for the project in various stages. The project loan interest rate is 1.70 percent for construction work, 0.40 percent for consultancy, one-time fee is 0.20 percent. Loan repayment period is 30 years. There is a grace period of 10 years. China will give 23.7 million dollars in the third phase of the project.
The total estimated cost of Chittagong Sewerage System Development Project is Tk 5 thousand 152 crore 56 lakh. JICA loan for the project is Tk 4 thousand 144 crores. The implementation period of the project is from January 2025 to November 2032. The main objective of the project is to ensure proper decontamination system in Chittagong city, contribute to healthy living and preservation of aquatic environment by ensuring decontamination facilities like decontamination treatment plants, pumping stations and pipelines etc. JICA has provided loans for the project in various stages. JICA will provide a loan of $130 million for engineering services in the project.
The interest rate of this loan (engineering service) is 0.20 percent, one-time fee is 0.20 percent. Repayment period is 30 years (including 10 years grace period). Japan is Bangladesh’s biggest development partner at the bilateral level. Since independence, the Japanese government has been providing significant assistance in various sectors to improve the socio-economic conditions of Bangladesh. In keeping with the priorities of the Bangladesh government to achieve economic prosperity, loans and various grants for projects in infrastructure development, communication, electricity and energy, agriculture, education, health and family welfare, water supply and sanitation, rural development, environmental development and human resource development and other sectors as support. The Japanese government has pledged 32.37 billion US dollars.
