Bangladesh and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will sign two loan agreements today for financing a project titled “South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Railway Connectivity: Akhaura-Laksam Double Track.”
The deals are US$ 400 million ordinary capital resources (OCR) and US$ 105 million Asian Development Fund (ADF), said an official here yesterday.
Economic Relations Division (ERD) Senior Secretary ERD Senior Secretary Mohammad Mejbahuddin and ADB Country Director Kazuhiko Higuchi will sign the loan deals on their respective sides.
The project will support Bangladesh government in upgrading the 72-km Akhaura-Laksam section of the Dhaka Chittagong railway corridor to a double track railway line with modern signaling equipment, according to project documents.
The section is part of a major sub-regional corridor and the Trans-Asia Railway network.
The project will also improve 11 railway stations and strengthen the capacity of the railway sector in project management and implementation as well as in accessing climate mitigation funds.
By increasing the capacity of a major international trade corridor, the project will boost the national economy and facilitate sub-regional cooperation and trade.
The project was endorsed by the SASEC Trade Facilitation and Transport Working Group at a meeting held in Singapore on October 30, 2013.
