WB to back Tk.24 crore loan from Bangladesh

Staff Correspondent: The World Bank (WB) has scrapped a Tk 24 crore loan which they gave Bangladesh to develop its eight sectors and the WB is backing the loans citing concerns over corruption in the projects.

The World Bank authorities have sent a letter in this regard to the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance in last May for backing the loans of $30 lakh.

The letter at that time asked for the details about the corruption occurred in the projects but the WB authorities were not satisfied about the response of the Finance Ministry.

And finally the loan was cancelled while the WB also scrapped a total Taka 70 crore loan from the projects in last two years.

Economic Relations Division sources of the Finance Ministry confirmed this to risingbd.com on Wednesday.

Sources said, "These kinds of occurrences might be happened when we sought assistances to the foreign agencies and organisations but some of our government officials were responsible for backing the loans."

Arasto Khan, one of the officials of Planning Commission, told risingbd.com, "This is not new for Bangladesh."

"A total of Tk 93 thousand crore was also backed in this way," the Planning Commission official also added, saying, "It was not wanted, the government officials who were involved in the projects were responsible for these kinds of occurrences."

"Some amount of loan for separate projects has already been sent to the World Bank as per their directives," confirmed the additional secretary of the Ministry of Planning, Kazi Shofiqul Azam.

Sources said, a total of 33 projects with World Bank assistance are being run in the country now while  the bank has provided total of $750 crore.

In 2012, the World Bank also scrapped a $1.2 billion loan to build Bangladesh`s longest bridge, citing concerns over corruption in the project.

The bank`s move at that time was an embarrassment for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina`s government, which has made the $2.9 billion Padma Multipurpose Bridge a centerpiece of its pledge to improve infrastructure in the country.


risingbd/ DHAKA/ July 1, 2015/ Hasan Mahamud/ Mahfuz