Chinese delays in approving a concessional loan worth US $335 million are holding up a major expansion of Mongla seaport, senior Bangladeshi officials have said, raising concerns over the future timeline of one of the country’s key infrastructure projects.
The Economic Relations Division (ERD) submitted the loan request to Beijing seven months ago, but no positive response has yet been received, stalling progress on the Taka 40.68 billion modernisation scheme approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in early February. The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) signed a contract with the Mongla Port Authority (MPA) on 25 March to execute the project, but work cannot begin without the financing package.
The loan request was sent to China at the end of April. Officials involved in the process say Beijing has not moved forward with approval, despite the project being included under the umbrella agreement signed during President Xi Jinping’s Dhaka visit in 2016. That framework covered 27 development projects, including the long-planned expansion and modernisation of Mongla port.
Preparatory steps were completed over the past two years: the MPA and CCECC signed an MoU in August 2021, and the contractor submitted its technical proposal and financial bid in January 2023. The project aims to construct two 368-metre container jetties, large-capacity loaded and empty container yards, a hazardous-cargo handling yard, and to procure gantry cranes and other port equipment. Once finished, Mongla’s container-handling capacity is expected to rise by 394,000 TEUs a year.
ERD Joint Secretary Alia Meher told The Financial Express that the loan application remains under process. Muhidul Islam, Additional Secretary overseeing the Ministry of Shipping’s Development Wing, said there has been “no development” so far, noting that Chinese authorities must obtain their own ECNEC-equivalent approval before moving ahead. He suggested the loan might be considered in China’s upcoming fiscal budget.
A K M Anisur Rahman, Member (Engineering and Development) of the MPA, confirmed that no communication has been received from Beijing since the loan request was submitted, and said no physical progress on jetty construction is currently under way.
