KIND Secures Priority Project Rights for Bangladesh Infrastructure Project Worth 11 Trillion Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND) announced on the 23rd that through consultations with the Bangladesh government, South Korean companies have secured 'priority project rights' for three projects including roads, railways, and power transmission lines.

On the 19th, both sides held the 'Korea-Bangladesh Joint Platform meeting' in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, to discuss infrastructure development cooperation and agreed on this matter. The three projects secured this time amount to a total of 9.2 billion USD (approximately 10.73 trillion KRW). The Bangladesh side decided to negotiate project conditions exclusively with the Korean side and sign contracts without separate public bidding procedures for these projects.

The railway project, which involves the largest investment of 8.5 billion USD, is to build an approximately 80 km outer ring railway around Dhaka. The Bangladesh side is currently conducting a feasibility study, with interim results expected next month.

The 500 million USD Dhaka?Mymensingh road improvement project is one for which KIND supported a feasibility study (F/S) by Korean companies in the second half of last year. Based on the study results, detailed discussions on project development are planned for this year.

The 200 million USD 400 kV power transmission line project is being promoted by the Bangladesh government with a target opening in January 2024. Due to the rapidly increasing power demand in Bangladesh, urgent development is required. This project was also supported by KIND’s F/S, and both sides will form a working group in the first half of this year to discuss project development.

In addition, both sides plan to conduct further consultations on about eight other projects including Mongla Port, Mirpur housing complex, Khan Jahan Ali Airport, and Chittagong Port. Furthermore, the '3rd Joint Platform meeting' will be held in Korea in the second half of this year to further discuss securing priority project rights.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to complete the launch of a sub-fund of the 'Global Plant, Construction, and Smart City (PIS) Fund' worth approximately 1.5 trillion KRW by May this year to execute this and other projects. Additionally, government-to-government negotiated contract projects are underway in Paraguay, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, and other countries.

A Ministry official stated, "Starting this year, we will move beyond the government's simple order support method and make this the first year of expanding investment development projects centered on KIND."