What says the World Bank? Asks Bangladesh minister over axed funds for Padma Bridge

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has sought answers from the World Bank which had stopped funds for the Padma Bridge.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 13 Feb 2017, 04:28 PM
Updated : 13 Feb 2017, 04:28 PM

The global lender in 2012 accused government officials of taking bribes for assigning Canadian firm SNC Lavalin as adviser to the project to build Bangladesh's largest infrastructure.

But the claim that led to withdrawal of the fund worth $1.2 billion was recently dismissed in a Canadian court as ‘gossip’.

Quader has been heading the Ministry of Communications, later renamed to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, after his predecessor Syed Abul Hossain stepped down over the allegations.

The government then officially withdrew its fund request to start bridging the Padma, integral for linking the south-west, with its own funds.

Ministers and leaders of the Awami League, in its second straight term, have been asking the World Bank for an apology.

Quader’s comments at a discussion on Monday are continuation of those calls.

“What will the World Bank say now? I’m waiting for their response,” he said. 

Recalling the events from 2012, he said, “So much humiliation! I was felling so hopeless for what the World Bank claimed.”

“We’ve suffered so many insults and ridicules. Some newspapers also joined the criticism. The civil society members who are regulars on TV talk shows did not spare us.”

“But it is now proven that there was transparency when the project began. And it will be completed with full transparency by the end of 2018.”

“Bengalis are known for being brave, not for theft,” he said.